Bad spending habits can become a serious addiction. You can talk to yourself as much as you want, but if you don't change your mindset about money, you will forever be spending and buying things you don't need. The reality in my head was, girl, if you don't get it together you are going to dig yourself into a ditch. Now mind you, I didn't lack for anything, but I certainly didn't use wisdom on every purchase that I made.
It wasn't until 2-3 years ago that I had an epiphany, I started changing the way I saw my financial situation. Yes, I was paying my bills, going out, dressing nice and doing what I wanted, but I didn't feel like I had a handle on my financial stability. I desired to be in the state of abundance and not in the state of money transferring. This process took some time and it was not an overnight miracle-I had to self-assess and make some changes.
Here's a glimpse into how I altered my life. I love eating out, but at times I would have to make a decision. Do I eat what I have at home since I'm going out over the weekend, or do I splurge and buy food every night after work? My waistline could not afford eating out every night, so I started cooking my dinner. Cooking my dinner more helped me to have enough for lunch the next day or two. Since I usually go to lunch with friends while I'm at work, I started picking and choosing what days I wanted to treat myself for lunch.
I never go to the grocery store hungry because we all know that's a no -no. I actually make a list before I go to the store - it does help you to stay on track. I now make wiser decisions while grocery shopping, asking myself, do I really need that? Is that healthy for me? Wow - talk about self-discipline and conviction.
As far as shopping for clothes, I still love a good sale. I have figured out the stores marketing schemes. Would you like to know what it is.....wait for the sale! Don't buy anything when it first comes out because as the weeks go by, that same item(s) will be reduced. Be smart!!
Lastly, I begin to create a plan to pay off credit cards and reduce monthly subscriptions that I don't need. I kept the ones that really matter - HULU. Let's not even talk about cable, I will forever have a 45.00 internet bill because I'm still a Time Warner Customer - gotta love my Firestick. I have my own movie theater and I'm loving it.
I have many other tips, but I'm not going to bore you with them. What I truly want to convey is, if you are trying to get ahead financially and see some areas where you can improve, you must change your mindset about money. If you want change; it starts with you.
This journey is quite interesting, and I believe if you change a few things, eventually you will master the art of changing your relationship with money. It worked for me - it can work for you too!
For more information and tips, please email me at [email protected]