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My way of living in 2023 was not ideal and I admit there were times I hated myself for not having any control over my life. I struggle with self-control in various aspects of my life but this year I am trying to do better... You can follow me on this journey of knowing what is going on in my finances and having an actual budget. Here's how I plan on doing it
- First thing I started creating a budget for every month for all of my expenses, if I want something and it's not on that list then I am not getting it. I have everything a girl could possibly need and accepting that I have it all will help me from spending money on new things that I most likely already have. I use the app sheets to do my monthly budget since I have a Chromebook currently so it is easier to just do my budget this way. The app is on all of my devices so that I can look at it when I am shopping.
- list all your big expenses first. I list all the important expenses that I cannot go without at the top of that list like house expenses, groceries, electric, gas, and pet food.. so all of that is at the top and all of my beauty supply needs are at the bottom.
- I learn to look out for sales and to get coupons, especially for grocery shopping.
- Buy all the important things in bulk: I never want to run out of toilet paper, dish soap, toothpaste, lotion, or bath soap... when I look out for sales I just get all of them at once for 2 months so I can spend my money on something else the following month. By doing that you get a discount because some of the items are by two and get one free so you save some money as well.
- have a list when shopping. I never want to walk into a store and just look around for things that I might need because that is just a recipe for disaster! I am a big spender so I need to know exactly why I am walking in into that store because If I don't I will leave with 14 items that I do not need.
- cut back on certain expenses: I realize I spent $96.72 on Netflix last year over the course of 6 months of course and I didn't even open my Netflix account once throughout that time so I could have paused my subscription and come back when I needed to. So that was money down the drain...
- take out cash before going shopping and leave my banking cards at home. when I have the exact amount of money that I need, it will save me from spending more on things that I don't need.
- stop buying clothes for every occasion. Unless I am going to a wedding then I don't need to be buying any more clothes! my closet is overflowing and I still open my mouth to say "I have nothing to wear" like what ??? on top of that I have so many clothes that I never wear that I need to donate!
- Beauty supply, I do spend a decent amount of money on my hair and for my appearance. Setting money aside for that each month will help me know exactly what I need to get done and how much it will cost to get it done so that I don't do more than I can afford.
if 2023 taught me something it is :
- budgeting is the key to success
- check your mailbox
- make sure you pay all your important bills first before online shopping for things you definitely didn't need.
- stop comparing my life journey to someone else's
- drink water
- stop touching my face and never pop a pimple!
