So as promised, I’m going to write about something I became hugely passionate about a while back which was dumping dept and getting our finances VERY in order.

Now our financial advisor lady always tells us how awesome we’re doing for young people and that feels good, but I’m a bit obsessive compulsive in that I always like to take things to the next level. I figure of you’re doing good, you should be able to do great and then maybe ramp it up to doing awesome. Sounds easy enough right?

Our situation isn’t as bad as a lot of other people I know or have heard of. I killed off all of my student loan debt ages ago, neither of carry a credit card balance and the only things we owe money on are my vehicle and our mortgage. That’s where some would say “see, we’re not in a financial emergency” and they’d carry on happily.

Sorry, that’s not good enough for me….so I went right crazy and here are some of the things I came up with in our house to save money/make more money and simplify our lives a bit…

1) Instead of running through the month and then seeing what was left for money, try starting with the dollar figure we have, budget for the necessities and see what is left.

2) Assess the expenses, decide which are essential and which are extravagant and do away with the crap we really don’t need.

3) Look at all necessary expenses and do some hard calling/office visits to see what can be reduced. Think insurance….everyone wants your business

4) Go through house room by room and gather ALL of the stuff you don’t use much or absolutely need. Sell it off on Ebay/Craigslist or even donate to the local Salvation Army or thrift shop. More people out of work every day…sure would be nice to be able to help a few of them…

5) Pretend credit cards don’t exist. Who doesn’t find it really simple to spend more money using plastic instead of paper? How to do this? See step 6…

6) Have a solid budget. Wanna know what a solid budget should read at the bottom? $0
That’s right zero dollars, nada, zip, zilch. Doesn’t mean you’re broke, it just means that all of your income is spoken for which should include (in addition to the bills and necessities) fun/entertainment, savings…the whole ball of wax. If it doesn’t have a category, you don’t spend money on it!

7) Have balance. I don’t mean the kind where the nice officer has you walk the pretty painted line while touching your nose cause your breath smells like cheap Tequila…I mean balance as in harmony or a good mix….

A balance between staying on budget and having fun. You can go all out with the money saving ideas like turning off lights in rooms you’re not even in (HINT WIFE!!), shopping once per week for groceries and sticking to sale items, and basically not wasting money but PLEASE PLEASE….have some fun will you? It’s perfectly ok to spend money and take your mate out for a date (I’m a poet and I wasn’t aware of it….ok) just make sure you’ve got the bases covered and that you’re not robbing Pietro to pay Pablo.

So many aren’t as financially frigged as they think they are. Think about it……

(Steps off soap box)