Career Update + Budgeting Tips

Today we’re talking budgeting. It starts with adjusting your mindset, fully assessing your current situation and creating a strategy. How do you do this?

By keeping your expenses low, automating as much as you can and staying focused!
You are guaranteed to see results over time with patience and dedication.

I have a new job, Earn $10k more and am finally able to save a year after graduating. This budgeting series will consist of 3 parts including Tips, Saving and a Budgeting Q & A with Age.

Today we’re starting with Tips.

Saving $$$ should NEVER be an option.

This should be the priority of your budget each time you are paid. Having this money put aside will be one of your greatest decisions to date. Trust me, you’ll thank me when the emergencies or unexpected set backs arise.

How I do it: I pay myself first.  I personally believe the easiest way to do this is to set up an automatic transfer from your checking account to your savings account. This way you don’t have the choice, it is now a must.

Plan for the future

Specifically, retirement. The most common retirement plans take the form of a a 401k offered by an employer. This is something my dad had to push me on and teach me the importance of. Many employers match 1% to 6% of an employee’s contribution. That is free money! There is no way I was not going all in when I found that out. I definietly recommend looking into investing in a 401k. Whose going to invest in your future if you don’t? Think about it.

Know what you owe

This is so important. Confronting your debt in all its ugly truth is essential to righting the course on your finances. Make a list of any debts you have. And yes, I’m talking student loans too. Be sure to include the balance and interest rates. Once you see all of these amounts in one place it will be much easier to make a plan based on your current income.

Stop using your credit cards

You think I’m crazy right? Haha, not all together! To clarify, be mindful of how you’re using your credit cards. Credit Card companies do a great job at offering all kinds of points, reward miles and zero percent financing. But you have to remember their primary source of business is you racking up debt and paying interest on said debt. Credit cards while offering a necessary lifeline in pressing situations are not exactly your friend.

What do I mean by this?
Chances are, you’ve gotten to used to paying for things on the card as well as spending the cash you have in your checking account, so you may have to spend a month playing catch up. This is not where you want to be. Credit usage is used in determining your credit score. Using less than 30% of your available credit is a good goal to have. But REMEMBER using some available credit and paying it off monthly is better than not using any credit at all.

Digit is my favorite way to save! Save money and pay off debt, all without thinking about it. Be sure to share your referall link with your friends to make $$https://digit.co/r/ZkDvIVdTKQ?ab

Keep your eye out for parts 2 & 3 where we dive in further!

Catch ya on the flip side,