Is your money telling you what to do or are you telling your money what to do in a money plan? I hope you’re telling your money what to do. If you are, it really means that you’re making it behave, and making money behave means that you’re actively taking charge and managing it.
When money is telling you what to do, it typically shows up with more going out of your pocket than is coming in. This happens because of poor spending habits and poor money management.
A written money plan tells your money what to do and how to behave. If you live without one, it often leads to disorganization, chaos and lots of stress! Here are 5 benefits of a written money plan:
1. Eliminate managing your money by crisis. A written plan will help you understand and decide on how you want your cash to flow each month. In a crisis situation, you’ll feel rushed and emotionally charged to make a decision. This often leads to poor decision-making; however, if you have a written plan, it aids you in making intelligent financial decisions and to do so from a place of calm instead of chaos. Since cash is continuously moving in and out of your life, wouldn’t you like to have some say on the particulars of how that will actually happen? Without a written plan detailing where your money is going, you aren’t pro-actively managing your money.
2. Create a balanced life. When you create your monthly budget, you’ll make adjustments to bring it into balance — increasing in some areas and decreasing in others. A balanced monthly budget means a balanced and healthy you, and when the bottom line is a positive number, it definitely means that you’re telling your money what to do.
3. Outline a blueprint of your financial life. A clear blueprint shows you where you’ll spend your money each month. It’s the same as a blueprint for building a new house. Would you tell a builder to just put the house wherever there’s room on the parcel of land you just bought? Of course not! You would provide the blueprint, which clearly shows exactly where the house is to be built, all of the measurement details, as well as the materials to be used. So, create a financial blueprint that shows you exactly where you’ll spend your money every month.
4. Eliminate guilt and stress in your financial life with ability to win with money. To feel like a winner, you must behave like a winner. Those who want to win in life, set goals, take action, and do whatever it takes to succeed. With proper money planning, the focus shifts from traveling down a path of wasteful spending habits to achieving your financial goals.
5. Experience feelings of empowerment. Feeling empowered comes from being in control of your finances. By telling your money how to behave, you’ll create a more secure financial foundation — you’ll understand your spending, your income, and how much you need to save for your financial goals.
Are you ready? Here are a few tips to remember on your journey to telling your money what to do:
Making money changes will most likely bring up a lot of emotions. If you stick with it, making small but consistent changes every day, you’ll achieve what you’re aiming for.
Be patient. It takes time to change old habits to better more productive ones, so give yourself a break. If you have some setbacks, just get back up and continue moving forward toward your money goals — that’s what winners do!
The more you tell your money what to do, the easier it gets and the more fun you’ll have, too!