I've been a self employed entrepreneur for years (yikes....like most of them, lol) which is delightful but unstable. There have been years that I made very, very little money. But it's the price of freedom; Mark Cuban says that an entrepreneur is a person who will work 80 hours a week for themselves to avoid working 40 for someone else, and it's totally true.
My personal financial tactic (also informed by David Ramsey and a bunch of other smart people) is to save as much as I can, put as much as I can into my IRAs and on the other end, be as frugal as possible. I drive an ancient car (which I love; the concept of paying a lease every month is just not even on the radar), I live in a very small house (which I paid off this week) and I rarely shop recreationally. We love to eat, so I cook a lot, we buy a lot of wine, and we donate to animal causes. Being fiscally smart doesn't automatically mean not spending on things that make you happy, but being intentional about what those things are is key. If you have Starbucks every morning, it ceases to be a treat....
On a very bright note, the earlier you start saving, the more valuable those savings are because they grow over time. And weirdly enough, it feels good!!!
A couple of tips; if you have a car loan, a student loan at high interest, a mortgage, credit card debt, over pay by whatever amount you can, no matter how small. If you're using credit cards to earn points, pay it off every month. Set up online banking so you can easily send 10, 20, 40 bucks extra to your bills whenever you have it. Join Digit, which takes out tiny amounts from your accounts on a random basis. Use Smarty Pig for automatic deposits into accounts you can designate for weddings, cars, kids, college. There are a number of 'round up' programs and apps too. Check out some great money blogs; Fox on Stocks, Simple Dollar, Frugal living. Save your change. Save your fives!
Saving is good; spending is good too, but not mindless spending....like mindless eating, it's destructive and not very satisfying!
My personal financial tactic (also informed by David Ramsey and a bunch of other smart people) is to save as much as I can, put as much as I can into my IRAs and on the other end, be as frugal as possible. I drive an ancient car (which I love; the concept of paying a lease every month is just not even on the radar), I live in a very small house (which I paid off this week) and I rarely shop recreationally. We love to eat, so I cook a lot, we buy a lot of wine, and we donate to animal causes. Being fiscally smart doesn't automatically mean not spending on things that make you happy, but being intentional about what those things are is key. If you have Starbucks every morning, it ceases to be a treat....
On a very bright note, the earlier you start saving, the more valuable those savings are because they grow over time. And weirdly enough, it feels good!!!
A couple of tips; if you have a car loan, a student loan at high interest, a mortgage, credit card debt, over pay by whatever amount you can, no matter how small. If you're using credit cards to earn points, pay it off every month. Set up online banking so you can easily send 10, 20, 40 bucks extra to your bills whenever you have it. Join Digit, which takes out tiny amounts from your accounts on a random basis. Use Smarty Pig for automatic deposits into accounts you can designate for weddings, cars, kids, college. There are a number of 'round up' programs and apps too. Check out some great money blogs; Fox on Stocks, Simple Dollar, Frugal living. Save your change. Save your fives!
Saving is good; spending is good too, but not mindless spending....like mindless eating, it's destructive and not very satisfying!
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