John's Money Tips for the New Year

Ok here we go with the next tip - last post we talked about stocking up on off-season supplies - today we are going to jump-start the new year with some new perspective about what you are really doing with your money.

Just like many of us ate too much and gained a few pounds toward the end of the year we now are being more aware of what we are eating and eating less to get the physical part of our lives on track.  Well, in the same way we have to spend less and track our spending to get the finanacial part of our life back on track.

So here is the first tip to get started.
We are going to SHOCK our system.......
 
For one week write down everything you buy in a notebook or journal.  Just like a food journal this will give you an awareness of what your are really spending money on.  Just like food we tend to think we are eating less than we are,  with money we tend to think we are spending less than we are.

You will be surprised at how much is spent on small unneeded things or impulse buying.

Some things you may notice is how much you are spending on coffee drinks, sodas  or eating out.  A suggestion on the impulse buying would be when you see something you want to buy and it wasn't planned - walk away from it for 24 hours and then decide if you still want it.  Most of the time you won't. 


"Financial success is 80% behavior and 20% knowledge"  Dave Ramsey