How well did you do with the first seven days for saving money? Get caught up here before we move on to the next seven days. Let’s stretch ourselves and continue this “saving money journey” for an additional week. Here is how:
Day 8: Plan to win. Have you ever heard the saying “he who fails to plan plans to fail?” Once you find a plan that works, stick to it. A basic plan should include spending, saving, and paying off debt. People’s financial plan may be different, depending on their quality of life. Figure out what works best for you.
Day 9: Devise a plan for emergencies. Unexpected situations are inevitable, and if one occurs, ask your local government representatives about emergency financial assistance. Rental and utility assistance are the most common programs around. But, before an emergency arise, start putting money aside for your “emergency fund” now.
Day 10: Get a vision. Whether you wish to pay off your student loans or save for your children’s college tuition, write it down and look at it daily. It is easy to think about something and forget about it. However, if you write it down and read it daily, it is difficult to forget about it.
Day 11: Journal. Make sure to include the good, bad, and ugly days of saving money. One benefit of writing in a journal is to keep records of telephone numbers, email address, and contact names of creditors who you work wit at a specific organization. Another benefit of writing in a journal is having the ability to stay organized.
Day 12: Go with the flow. If a bump comes in the road to your financial success, don’t get frustrated. Do what you can to get back on track. With practice of moving ahead regardless of barriers, you will be more comfortable with issues as they arrive.
Day 13: Embrace change. Go with the flow. Change is inevitable. We might like our daily routines, but there will always be someone or something that comes along to interrupt those routines; so don’t be inflexible. If you have to dig in your savings for $100 to help out a friend, do so and plan to return the $100 back to savings.
Day 14: Reevaluate. Every so often reevaluate your financial plan for additions, deletions, or edits to ensure that you are maintaining continual momentum and not simply following a “routine” plan. You may also find that your current plan is working well and you are seeing a success patter in your finances. You can reevaluate your financial plan once a bill is paid off, you need money for an unexpected cost, or you simply just want to make sure you have the best plan working in your favor.
Stay tuned for next week’s blog. I will provide the last “saving money journal” tips.
About Dr. Karen Ratliff
Credit: Dr. Karen Ratliff
Dr. Ratliff is a certified life coach and professional educator, assisting many people in accomplishing financial, career, and educational goals. She is also the author of “Tightening Your Bootstraps: 104 Tips to Kick Your Debt to the Curb Now.” Keep up with her budgetary advice via Twitter @drkarenratliff her website at www.drkarenratliff.com, and her facebook fanpage “Financially Focused with Dr. Karen Ratliff.”
