C.R.E.A.M.: Budget? Debt? Send Help. TYSM.

*SIGH*

Budgeting is literally the bane of my existence and I am so sad that I am not filthy rich. It seriously hurts my feelings. I am not living my true life (you know, the one that exists in my head where I own a yacht and have a beautifully buff man *cough* Trevante Rhodes *cough* feeding me grapes while I shop for a pet giraffe online) because I have refused to stick to a budget most of the time. Well, that was until now...

There are several ways to work a budget, but I am coupling my budget with other methods to get me to a place where I feel comfortable in life, financially speaking. Here are 5 tips/ strategies to a successful financial come-up that I am working with this year:

1. The detailed annual budget. Many people set a budget month to month, but I subscribe to the excel spreadsheet tribe. I include the amount of every paycheck with the date and every single bill paid out of EACH of those checks. I also include the formulas in the spreadsheet so that it automatically calculates itself no matter what I enter. I know how much I will have left over from every check, how much I paid on every single bill, and how much I am able to save for the entire year.

2. I pay the bills that I can in full for the year: Ex. Calculate what you pay monthly for your energy bill and multiply it by 12. You won't have to worry about it again until the following year and can focus your efforts on something else, like debt reduction. I find that I waste a lot of money month to month and "paying things off" for the year makes me feel like I have more money than what I actually do. It's mental sorcery.

3. Don't buy anything directly after being paid. Does anybody else feel like after they get paid, the money is about to burn a hole in their pocket? I'm so impulsive. So I have gone back to only shopping the week AFTER I get paid if I feel like it's a must have item. The wait makes me second guess if I really want the item in the first place.

4. Double debt payments. Avoid paying interest for the rest of your life. Try to reduce the debt as much as you can so that these companies can stop getting rich off of the interest you are paying. If your credit card payment is $50 a month, try to pay an additional $50.

5. $5 Challenge: I follow LouisNPearls on IG and she inspired me to give this another try. You have to save every $5 bill that you come in contact with. You must commit to actually taking money out of the bank. I saved a chunk of money a few years ago. You don't even miss it. Don't dip into the cash pot before December 2018 though.

Above all, pay yourself before you pay anyone else if you can. You will be paying bills for the rest of your life, make sure that you put some up for yourself.

#Lifestyle