Hello, my name is Corin and I haven’t saved a dime in a whole year.
I think it’s about time I come clean here. I know I claim to be the Original Budget Babe and all, but 2020 was a tough year for me! If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen a live I did on the Creatively Corin story. Go watch it if you haven’t! But to summarize, I lost my dream job at the height of the pandemic and the future that I had been saving for took a major detour. I was at a crossroads in my career, and thus, Creatively Corin was born.
But that’s not what we’re here to talk about today. You see, prior to the layoff, I was stacking checks like no tomorrow. Every pay period, I’d save all but $500 and use that to pay my bills and live on until the next pay day. This method helped me save over five figures FAST. There was something deeply satisfying about watching my bank account grow practically overnight! But with the layoff, saving came to an abrupt halt. Even though I found employment elsewhere, I was making less than half of what I’d made at my “big girl job”, so I thought “what’s the point in saving?”. That, babes, is where I messed up. So here I am 6 months and 2 jobs later, logging into my savings account and realizing I’m in the exact same place I was last year. Talk about defeating.
Even though I’m not proud of neglecting my savings for a year, I’ve decided not to beat myself up about it. 2020 was a wild ride, and staying well was an accomplishment in itself. Plus, not saving and going into debt are two COMPLETELY different things. Through it all, I was always able to stay in the black. But now that I’m stating with a clean slate, I’m deeming this month #MoneyMarch and I’m taking control of my finances again in 3 simple ways- thoughtful budgeting, conscious spending, and disciplined saving.
Thoughtful Budgeting
I know that most people are afraid of the “b word” but a healthy financial life starts with thoughtful budgeting. Budgeting can be intimidating, because it is usually associated with restriction. I am here to tell you it does not have to be overly limiting. Instead of a setting a strict budget that you won’t be able to stick to, start modestly. Really think about how much your expenses are and what luxuries you simply can’t live without, and budget accordingly.
Conscious Spending
In my opinion, monitoring spending is even harder than budgeting! Once you decide how much you’ll allow yourself to spend over a given period of time, you have to be conscious about how you allocate your spending money. You’ll probably find you spend a lot of money unconsciously- on fast food or impulse shopping. Curbing these habits will help you make the most of your spending money, and you’ll realize adhering to a spending budget isn’t so bad after all!
Disciplined Saving
Once you are aware of your spending and committed to a reasonable budget, it will be easier to save consistently. You should find you have more money “left over” and saving it will be the obvious answer. Soon enough, saving will come to you as second nature!
Does all this sound pretty reasonable to you? Are you ready to join me in taking control of your finances? Have you committed to building the bougie lifestyle within a budget that you’ve always dreamed of?
Ok, I know you’re hype now, but still not exactly sure where to start? No worries! I put together a guide to help kickstart your Money March with ease!
Prudently,
Great info!