Ever feel like you don’t quite have enough money to go around? Yeah, we know the feeling all too well. The 1st and the 15th never seemed to come soon enough – until we got our spending under control.
It can be really easy to focus on only one side of the equation – how much money you make. However, you have far less control on how much you make compared to how much you spend (and keep).
People That Make Money Spend Money
If you look around, you can probably find people who make much more than you. However, there’s a good chance they still don’t have any more in their bank account at the end of the month than you might. Ever notice how people will end up getting a newer, more expensive car a few months after they get promoted?
The tendency is to spend more as you make more. It’s really easy to do. We tell ourselves things like, we earned this. We deserve more.
Honestly, you probably do deserve more, but you can’t get ahead of yourself. Just because you deserve something doesn’t mean you’re going to get it. That’s just not how life works.
Focus on Things You Can Control
Let’s focus back on your situation. Is there something you spend money on that really doesn’t bring you joy and fulfillment? Where’s the majority of your money going? Are you spending more on wants than needs?
When we don’t plan our spending, we can end up drifting away from what’s really important to us. What are you buying that you really don’t need?
Seriously, what is it?
If you want to share, you can send us an Enlisted Money Confession to get it off your chest (we’ll only share your story if you specifically tell us we can).
Now what are you going to do about it? You have the power to make a change for the better, so go ahead and do it!
Look for Unnecessary Spending
If we look, we’ll likely find at least one or two things we’re spending money on that we don’t need. It will probably only take you a couple minutes of looking through your checking account transactions to se a few things you didn’t need to buy.
If you’re at a loss for where to look, here’s some ideas:
– Cancel that extra subscription you don’t really use
– Stop buying drinks at every event you go to (a $15 beer at the game doesn’t taste any better, we promise)
– Don’t buy that cool new Gerber or flashlight you saw at the exchange (make the military provide you with the right tools and equipment).
– Use the free tax prep service on base (or use the free services offered through MilTax)
Found Money
If you can shave just an extra $20/ month, you’d have an extra $240/year! If you want to play a cool game with the extra savings, take all the extra savings you find and set up an allotment to a specific savings account and nickname it “Found Money.” You’d be surprised how much you might accumulate in a year 🙂
Paying Down Debt
If you are still working on paying down debt, use your “found money” to reduce those. You want to be in control, not have the bank or credit card company control you.
Paying off all our debt and going debt free has been an amazing change for us. We no longer worry about when we’ll get paid. We aren’t stressed out when the electric bill is a little higher than last month.
It might sound silly, but cutting useless expenses and paying off debt can really reduce your financial frustration and stress.
Got a Success Story to Share?
Got a story where you were able to save money you want to share? Send us an Enlisted Success Story (once again, we only share if you say its okay).
Stop letting your hard-earned money slip through your fingertips and start using it to gain the financial freedom you fight so hard for every day!
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