When I had more of a disposable income I never kept track of my expenses, my bills, how much i had in my checking/savings accounts, etc etc. It was always "Oh yeah i have enough," or if I didn't I'd just put it on my card and forget about it until next month. Or I'd dip into my savings.
Then my hours got cut at work. Then my car needed a bunch of repairs. Then our heating bill got pretty high. Money became tight, I needed to track every dollar in order to make sure I could make payments on time. I had to cut way back on groceries, say NO to going out to eat or getting a coffee, try to scramble for cheap parking downtown.
I started really tracking my spending, keeping on top of my little cash flow, and really sticking to the "wants vs needs" expenses. "I really want to get a coffee at a cafe but do i really need it?" My boyfriend and I even decided to have a romantic date at home, trying to recreate a fancy dinner at a restaurant with inexpensive cheese/crackers/wine, candles, and making the dinner ourselves (we want to have a romantic date but do we truly need to go out for it?).
I figured out a base figure for my checking account each week which includes my monthly expenses (rent, utility, phone bill, Netflix/Hulu) divided by four (whereas before i would just use my check for the last week of the month for my rent/bills). Making sure i use each paycheck for my bills lets me see I have more wiggle room for consistent savings account deposits and payments toward my student loan. I started to see this money as NOT being my money, as well, so that i wouldn't spend it. At the end of the week or month any extra money on top of the weekly base goes toward savings or student loan.
Being broke sucks but it forced me to be more financially responsible and to really value my money. I feel more control over my expenses and money than when I had more of it. In the future when I do have more income I'll be able to save a lot more and utilize my money more responsibly.
February 07, 2019 at 09:30AM
