The Six Types Of Expenses You Need To Know About – #3

     Now, from an early age we all want ‘things’, sometimes very passionately. How many times have you had to break up a fight between two toddlers who wanted the same toy and neither was interested in sharing or giving in to the other?

     As a kid you probably asked your parents for the ‘things’ that you wanted. Sometimes that met with success, and at other times it probably failed miserably.

     When you got your first job I’m pretty sure you revelled in your newfound ability to buy the ‘things’ you wanted without having to ask your parents. Of course you probably wanted more than you could afford, but you felt that having at least some income was a great start!

     When you left home there was the realisation that there were ‘things’ that you needed, like a bed, a refrigerator, table and chairs, maybe a television, washing machine, a car, stuff like that. Your ability to purchase the ‘things’ you wanted was seriously reduced because of the ‘things’ you needed. That wasn’t so good!

     And today, you are more than likely still at that exact same place! You want ‘things’ but you have to juggle your income to pay for all of the Weekly Living Expenses and the Bills that we spoke about in the last two episodes, as well as the ‘things’ that you NEED, before you can even start thinking about purchasing the ‘things’ that you WANT.

     So how do you solve this dilemma?

     Well, you could go on a mission to earn more, but we already discussed that. No matter how much you earn, it’s never enough, and it’s not so easy to just increase your income anyway!

     Or, you could stop wanting so many ‘things’; some people have done that quite successfully. That’s the minimalist movement, but most of us really aren’t so greedy that what we want is that unreasonable. It’s just that our NEEDS keep exerting themselves at the worst times!

     In the book ‘The Richest Man in Babylon’, it was made very clear that the secret to financial success was to spend less than you earn.

     That sounds simple, but we all know it’s a lot easier to say than to do!

     So here are my two tips for spending less than you earn and dealing with ‘Things’.

     First: Pay yourself first, which is another tip from the Richest Man in Babylon. You do that by having income deducted from your pay so you never see it. Some of that money should go towards building up a three months income buffer, and some should go to a ‘life happens’ account so you do have money when unexpected stuff happens.

     Secondly: Create a plan for your money. So many of your expenses are predictable so can be planned for. Take control of what IS controllable and that way the uncontrollable won’t be anywhere near as hard to deal with.

     If you don’t know how to do that, or you just need some help to get started, the system I created in the mid 1990’s that rescued me from money stress is now available as an online software application called Spending Planner. For a tiny monthly subscription you can take control and get back your financial sanity.

     Speak to a Spending Planner to find out more. I can guarantee you will never regret making the decision to take positive action to take control of your finances! It’s the thing that will make ‘things’ much easier to deal with!