Brandy Long

Managing Your Money

Take a good look at where your money is going. First, sit down with a piece of paper and pen. Add up how much it is costing you a month for eating out for lunch and dinner. Think about hidden costs such as ordering pizza because you worked and don’t have time to cook a meal.

Add these and any other working costs and subtract it from our income.

Find ways to save money by thinking of everything you spend money on and try to cut it out or cut it back.
Genuine change results from an inner willingness and cannot be imposed by others. In order to have any success in converting a die-hard spend-thrift, one must understand several mental dynamics behind one:

1. They do not understand the concept of money. Period.
2. They need instant gratification
3. They are slow to realize that their money must be used to pay for life’s necessities
4. They don’t understand that control over their money, in the long run, will give them more freedom and peace of mind.
5. Any attempt to make them responsible for money is perceived as punishment or an attempt to control their lives; and, may backfire into another spending binge.

If you are in credit card debt, the following information should be enough to anger you and perhaps, enough to do something proactive in reducing your debt.
Some consumers, like actor and author Ben Stein, use plastic purely for convenience. While it would appear that Stein — who says he charges a small fortune every month on his credit cards — is the ideal customer, in reality, he is what some in the industry call a “deadbeat.” That’s because he pays his balance in full every month.
The industry’s most profitable customers, the ones being sought by creative marketing tactics, are the “revolvers:” the estimated 115 million Americans who carry monthly credit card debt.

Download my free budget planner here and get started managing your money.

Not sure where all your money is going?  Start here with an expense sheet, you will be amazed where it goes and how fast!