3 Things that are keeping you poor ~ from budget coach who won't tell you to stop spending

1. Spending more than you think. Most of us see a little bit of money in our bank account and think, hey, I've got some spending money. [logs into Amazon, checks "saved for later" and adds a few things into the cart] I've done that a hundred times. It was on sale!, or it was ONLY $7, or my favorite, I NEED this. No ya don't. You really don't. You want it. You might be having a sucky day. Retail therapy is making others rich, not you. That instant gratification feels amazing. I know, trust me, however it is keeping you poor! When you sit down to pay your bills and you have barely enough to do it. You look over at your cute little toaster light* (yeah, it's adorable... but did you need that, is that helping you get where you want to go?) Well, I bought it anyway* and I didn't return it. And it DOES make me smile. :) However, the credit cards being paid off and saving for a new car is once again pushed back because of a tiny cute toaster light* and the bad habit I have of spending, even if I think because it is "on sale" or under $20 it won't hurt my bank account too much. It all adds up! At some point we need to do adulting things and look at our personal finances and ask ourselves what a cool budget coach would do.

2. You are looking at others and wanting what they have. It is so normal. It is how it has been since the beginning of time. What I like about seeing what others do/have, is the ability to compare and contrast to my situation against (what you can see of) their situation. I love to watch videos on YouTube. I watch anything from cleaning/decluttering videos for motivation, meal prep ideas, and fun travel videos to get an idea of what to do on our next trip. I can't tell you how many kitchen gadgets or cleaning gadgets I have bought after watching those videos. However, don't let other people's lifestyle keep you poor. Instead, plan for it. That way if you see something that will actually make your day easier or meal prepping more fun, than if you have money put away for it. Sometimes, having that gadget that makes life easier is the motivation we need to get that task done. Also, if they have the lifestyle you want, guess what, you can have it too. It might take longer than you want, but you can have those things in time and with a budget.

3. You have NO IDEA what your money is doing. You get paid. You pay bills. You spend money on stuff, repeat. Sometimes you make more money than you spend, other times you spend more than you bring in. It may not be clear by looking at your bank account. This is usually how credit card debt starts. One month you can't pay it off in full due to an emergency or friends came into town and you wanted to have fun. It is simple to create a beginner budget to work with. Even if you have a simple list of how you spend will help you in understanding how you create a sustainable budget plan that works for you.

These things are probably keeping you poor, but there are things you can do to help yourself get out of that pattern.

What can you do about it?

Changing how we think about our money and how we react to having money can be figured out. There are money and budget coaches (hey, like me) who can talk you through your feelings about money (how you learned about money growing up), what steps you can take that fit your lifestyle, income and goals. You can save and spend. You can do fun things and build an emergency fund. You can eventually invest and grow a portfolio. I want to help you get your relationship with money straightened out and establish a plan before I send you off to your first day of investment camp with a certified financial advisor that has your best interest in mind (say it with me folks, fiduciary...fi-du-she-airy.) I want you to have a budget, as simple or complex as you want and know what every dollar is doing for you, know how much you have to spend when you want to go out, and be prepared for any surprise bill that is around the corner. Start to get curious about your spending, what you are buying? Is your debt growing? This is a great start and give you a lot of clarity.

I don't care if you have $5 in the bank or $50,000,000. Everyone can benefit from a budget and everyone can make smarter choices when they know exactly what they have. And newsflash, budgets do not have to be strict. I get sad when people think a budget is so strict and no fun.

I would love to chat with you on how wrong that is. The way I budget and hope that I can help you budget, is a flexible approach to creating categories for things that you do need to pay for (electricity and a roof over your head) but but also saving for fun things like a vacation or a new outfit.

*This is an Amazon Affiliate link, I do make a small commission if you purchase from this link. It does not affect the cost to you at all. (Thank you if you shop my link!)