Where to start?
So where do you start when you want to better your finances? I feel like the approach is 3-pronged:
Except it's not just any software - it's a whole system, a whole theory, and new way of working. You Need a Budget (YNAB) isn't the catchiest title, but it does what it says on the tin. I love the 34 day free trial (cleverly designed to get you through more than a month's cycle). I also love the free daily emails I'm getting to properly TEACH me, remind me and make me actually enthusiastic about budgeting!
- Make money
- Save money
- Budget effectively
Make money
This can be through the traditional route of paid employment, but the world - and internet specifically - is your oyster. There's literally hundreds of ways to either earn extra cash or subsist entirely off your own efforts. It can be simple spending money from survey websites or more steady, serious income from freelancing or home business.
Save money
Pretty simple, really. Look at the money you do have and shave off your outgoings. Either make due with less or find clever ways to buy for less - vouchers, sales, changing providers, and so on. I don't feel the need to write a novel, as advice can already be found on all corners of the internet.
Budget effectively
Really, this is the most important category that SO OFTEN gets overlooked by money blogs! Both the above steos are useless if you don't manage your money properly. I've feel like I've tried so many ways, systems and ideas over the years to better manage our own money - but have always failed. I don't have the discipline to use a basic Excel spreadsheet and stick to it. I can create a budget that balances just fine, but we always fall down when it comes to STICKING to it. So recently, I've called in the big guns - paid software.
It's not free, so I'm possibly contradicting myself slightly by advocating something that COSTS money to SAVE money, but believe me - it really works. It's $60 after the free trial, but using my link gets you $6 off - yay! That brings the price down to roughly £35 using today's rates. What's that - a month's worth of lattes? Try it free - upgrade it when you're addicted and amazed!
Why do I love it? It sticks to 4 master principles, the core of which is Every Dollar Has a Job. Sounds silly, but in the YNAB universe, you only budget money you actually as you receive it ("what do I need this money to do before I get paid again?") and every single penny is allocated a budget category BEFORE spending. No floating bits, no "oh I'll budget and then cool 50 quid leftover so maybe we'll eat out once more this month" and then before you realise it, that extra £50 got spent on a forgotten about MOT due and you ate out anyway, meaning the money really got stolen from another, much more essential category. I'm rambling now, but it's hard to be condensed about something as sophisticated as a budget. The good news is YNAB makes it so much easier to understand than I do!
I've only just started using YNAB this month, so I'm really eager to see how it works for ur family - our main problems being different pay cycles and lack of willpower! I will write more as time goes on with little updates and possibly even edit this post into a sort of "master copy".
Why do I love it? It sticks to 4 master principles, the core of which is Every Dollar Has a Job. Sounds silly, but in the YNAB universe, you only budget money you actually as you receive it ("what do I need this money to do before I get paid again?") and every single penny is allocated a budget category BEFORE spending. No floating bits, no "oh I'll budget and then cool 50 quid leftover so maybe we'll eat out once more this month" and then before you realise it, that extra £50 got spent on a forgotten about MOT due and you ate out anyway, meaning the money really got stolen from another, much more essential category. I'm rambling now, but it's hard to be condensed about something as sophisticated as a budget. The good news is YNAB makes it so much easier to understand than I do!
I've only just started using YNAB this month, so I'm really eager to see how it works for ur family - our main problems being different pay cycles and lack of willpower! I will write more as time goes on with little updates and possibly even edit this post into a sort of "master copy".
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