4 Money Tips from 4 Personal Finance Legends
#1. Budget Wisely, and Give Every Dollar a Job (John D. Rockefeller)
Let’s start with the basics. Before you know where to go with your money, you must understand where you are.
Your budget is where it all starts. Budgeting is not a boring chore, but a tool to help you achieve self-mastery. Instead of a basic accounting of inputs and outputs, it becomes a declaration of your priorities.
How do you start budgeting in a sustainable way? First, create a clear and concise record of where your money is currently going. The easiest method is to look at your bank and credit card statements, and record what you have actually spent in the last three months. This is the only way to realistically analyze your purchasing behavior.
Depending on your habits, this may be a bit painful, and a bit embarrassing. And if you’re doing it with your significant other, you may unearth some things you didn’t expect. However, it is crucial to your future success.
Next, you need to determine your priorities. Your past actions do not dictate your future decisions. You can in fact use your money differently.
What’s important to you? Do you want to save up for a nicer place to live? Would you like to go on a great vacation? How about tackling that mountain of student debt? The choice is yours. The point is to decide deliberately, and act intentionally. Working within a budget allows you to gain control of your financial life, and build your future in a direction of your choosing.
Fortunately, you no longer have to use a little notebook like Rockefeller (unless you want to, of course!). There are some great websites and apps to make this process much easier, and help you think differently about your money. My wife and I use You Need a Budget, and it has been a fantastic tool. Other people use Mint.com, and it works well for them. But whether you use a notebook, a smartphone, or a system of envelopes, a budget can change your life.
(ArtOfManliness.com)
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