Today I want to share with you five steps to get control of your finances.
My first suggestion is to write down where you're spending your money.
On a piece of paper,
Every time you get home,
Just write down any money you spent during that day.
If you've spent it on coffee,
Gas,
Or perfumes,
At this stage you don't want to avoid spending.
You don't want to change your behavior or do anything that's drastic.
You just want to be conscious of the money you're spending.
Even if it's on an expensive perfume,
Even if it's on a $12 latte,
You just want to be conscious about it.
This is actually the most important step on getting back control on your spending.
Don't try to change your behavior.
Just looking at where the money goes will change your behavior.
After a while,
You're spending your money consciously on the experiences that brings you most joy.
And that's the start of getting back the control.
The second part,
I want you to find out about different type of accounts in your country.
I want you to become your own private banker.
There might be different type of accounts that you can benefit from,
But you have no idea about it.
I want you to get control of the bank accounts that you have.
Close down any accounts you don't use anymore.
Find out about new offers in different banks.
Get yourself checkbooks from each accounts that you have.
Getting control of your bank accounts is very important.
Don't wait till you have money to find out about different accounts.
This is how you get back control.
The third step is to find out what are some free services that you already have but you don't know about.
If your credit card pays for your car expenses,
Find out how you can get that.
For instance,
My car got towed and I remembered I read something in the fine print of my credit card that this is covered.
I called them,
Sent them the invoice.
I got a check back in the mail for the full amount that I paid for the repair.
Find out if your insurance will pay for some of the things you're buying already out of pocket.
For instance,
I've learned that my insurance pays for a multivitamin that's really good quality that I didn't know about.
The fourth step is redefining wealth.
I want you to think of wealth as not the money in your bank account but many things like health.
If you're healthy,
Sometimes no amount of money can get you health.
If you have great relationships,
Friendships,
These are actually in the category of wealth.
In the hardest of times,
They can come to rescue you.
Another form of wealth is knowledge.
If you are multilingual,
Each language you know is your asset.
If you know how to play a musical instrument,
That's an asset.
And these are also a part of your wealth.
So I want you to broaden your view.
Think of wealth as your friendships,
As your eyesight when you're watching the sunset.
Now to the last step,
Practicing control.
You want to do it in the smallest ways possible.
For instance,
You paid $6 for a bank account you have.
Can you call your bank for the fee reversal?
Can you pay your minimum payments twice just to feel like you're in control again?
Can you find out if you can still return some of the products that are in your closet and you don't use them?
Recently,
I was able to return some very expensive leggings and I got a gift card.
Implement these steps and I promise you,
Things will start to shift for you in the best way possible.
Thank you for listening.
