Personal Budgeting: Can Money Really Talk?
In your personal budgeting, don't just crunch numbers. Listen to your money. Money really does talk. Even with the current financial crisis and economic downturn, your money's talking to you. Are you listening?
If you really listen, you'll hear things you may not have realized before. Just pay attention. Yes, I know, it sounds a bit weird. But stay with me .
First, listen to your cash flow. Look at your last paystub and check your gross income. That's the amount you get paid before any and all deductions. (The amount after deductions is your "net" pay.) Did you deposit at least 5 - 10% percent of that into a savings account? (That's over and above any contributions to a 401k.) If you didn't, why? Is it because you simply won't have enough "to live on" if you save 5 - 10%? If that's the case, then your money is telling you one of two things:
1) Either you're spending too much, or...
2) You're not making enough.
That's it. There are no other options.
When your money talks to you this way, it's always best to listen. The next step is to take action. Do something. Either cut your spending, or start thinking about how you're going to increase your income.
Usually you can do both - cut spending and increase income. Sometimes cutting spending (painful as you might think it is) can seem the easier of the two. After all, how to you increase your income, especially in the middle of a recession?
Well, the recession problem is definitely a tough nut to crack. But increasing your income comes down to two options: make more on your current job, or get another job that pays more.
Making more on your current job goes beyond just asking for a raise (again, a tough thing to do in a recession). It's got more to do with providing added value to your company - and letting your boss know about it.
There's nothing magical about personal budgeting and nothing magical about money talking. Even in our current crisis, money keeps talking. So listen up.
If you really listen, you'll hear things you may not have realized before. Just pay attention. Yes, I know, it sounds a bit weird. But stay with me .
First, listen to your cash flow. Look at your last paystub and check your gross income. That's the amount you get paid before any and all deductions. (The amount after deductions is your "net" pay.) Did you deposit at least 5 - 10% percent of that into a savings account? (That's over and above any contributions to a 401k.) If you didn't, why? Is it because you simply won't have enough "to live on" if you save 5 - 10%? If that's the case, then your money is telling you one of two things:
1) Either you're spending too much, or...
2) You're not making enough.
That's it. There are no other options.
When your money talks to you this way, it's always best to listen. The next step is to take action. Do something. Either cut your spending, or start thinking about how you're going to increase your income.
Usually you can do both - cut spending and increase income. Sometimes cutting spending (painful as you might think it is) can seem the easier of the two. After all, how to you increase your income, especially in the middle of a recession?
Well, the recession problem is definitely a tough nut to crack. But increasing your income comes down to two options: make more on your current job, or get another job that pays more.
Making more on your current job goes beyond just asking for a raise (again, a tough thing to do in a recession). It's got more to do with providing added value to your company - and letting your boss know about it.
There's nothing magical about personal budgeting and nothing magical about money talking. Even in our current crisis, money keeps talking. So listen up.
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