FRUGAL LIVING BABY STEPS

Courtesy of premeditatedleftovers.com

As you begin your frugal journey, it may seem confusing to some of you how to begin. I will share some tips on how to use baby steps in building your frugal life:

1.) Acknowledge that your former life of debt living did not work for you and you want another life. By doing this, you are not beating yourself up but realizing that you want to change.

2.) Budget! It is so important to know where your dollars go. Never mind if a budget seems binding but did you know where your money went before? Get started!

3.) Gather all of your debt, and I mean ALL of it; from the smallest to the largest. Put the information in a big spiral notebook (the ones with dividers in them for envelopes and receipts) by columns: Date-Transaction-Account Number-Balance-Notes. Start working on paying your debts.

4.)  Get a big water jug (the ones that you see at water coolers at businesses; you can also get a small one at the local store: Walmart, Kroger, etc). Start saving your change in it (whether it is pennies or silver) just do it! Every time change is accumulated, put it in the jug and watch it grow!

5.) Shopping for food does not have to be hard. Make a shopping list and stick to it. You can even earn cash back on brands you love without sacrificing taste.  Checkout 51 can help! Clip coupons from your favorite stores and use them! Plan your meals for each week so it will keep your spending on track.

6.) PURGE! This means clothes, household items and those things you no longer use or want. Take those things and have a yard sale or sell on Craigslist or Ebay. Use the proceeds towards your debt and saving. 

7.) Make a list of 'my whys' for wanting financial freedom. It could be to have generational wealthy or to travel without limits. The list is for you and must resonate within you. Post it where you can see it daily.

8.) Affirmations are a good way to be on track. They must be present tense and spoken three times a day. Here are some I use:

"I am now financially free. I now live in abundance."

"I am open to receive wealth in many ways."

"My income is constantly increasing. I prosper wherever I turn.'

9.) Forgive yourself for the debts and unwise spending, it is the past and it is up to you to heal it. Use these steps daily, not sometimes and know that you will succeed. Never mind what your 'friends' say, are they out of debt? Only speak with those who are winning because you are done with losing.

For more information, go to Dave Ramsey's 7 Baby Steps.

Be frugal and proud!

Dot

DO YOU HAVE OLD MONEY BELIEFS?

Do you have a pretty good handle on your money? How is your relationship with money? Good? Bad? Indifferent? Can you see yourself having a prosperous and abundant life? Lots of us wonder about these questions. Others do not care and continue to do what they want regardless of whether the situation is good or bad. If you are tired of having more month than money, no money at all or just tired of burying your head in the sand with the bills come in, this post can help.

First and foremost, it is time to stop beating yourselves up for the money mistakes you have made. Forgive yourself gently and learn the lessons! It is great to get 'how to' books on budgeting and all yet lets go deeper. A lot of the money issues that we have (yes me included) stem from past programming. This means growing up with these being told to us by our parents and other 'well-meaning' people. These are based on what they believed and since it manifested into their experiences, then they felt that they could relate them to you. Yet, not all advice is good advice because of the consequences. So it is time now to challenge every single belief that was told to you since a child. It does not matter that grandma said or grandpa said or mama said or daddy said. This is your life and since you want better in your life, we must think and do a thing in a different way. 

Lets go into some of those old beliefs here as follows:

Were you told beliefs such as;

(1.) "Money does not grow on trees"

(2.) "It is better to be poor and spiritual, than rich and evil."

(3.) "Money is the root of all evil." (this one is very popular)

(4.) "Once someone gets money, they get arrogant."

Honestly, do you really believe each of these and why? (1.) No money does not grow on trees so that one can be release from your mind. (2.) The second one is based on what others believed in regard to their religion yet is it your religion? There are folks that are just as rich, spiritual and kind people as there are poor people who are evil. Get it? Good. (3.) The third one is from the Bible yet has been misconstrued and misunderstood for years! The true text is that the love of money above your deity (higher power) is the root of all evil; not money itself. I believe that while many people have money, they do not keep it very long because subconsciously, they fear it and get rid of it. (4.) The last belief in this list is that money only magnifies the person's true character. This means that if the person was evil from the beginning, having more money will cause them to be more evil. This can go for kind people being more kinder, arrogant people being more arrogant and so forth.

There a lots more beliefs that can be challenged and it would be a great idea to list them as you go along and really examine each one. This can mean the difference between having a new and better prosperity mindset as oppose to staying in the same place.

Your respectful comments are truly appreciated and thank you.