Monday, November 21, 2011
Today kicks of Money Mondays with Austin the Realtor!
Ever run out of money before the end of the month? Do you sometimes feel like you're robbing Peter to pay Paul? For many people, thinking about their finances and understanding how money works can be a bit overwhelming - they simply feel like there is too much going on, most of which is out of their control. However, it doesn't have to be that way. People looking for help are either buried with too much information or don't trust the people giving financial advice. With Money Mondays, Austin doesn't want to overwhelm, confuse or hoodwink you. He simply wants to try to provide information succinctly and simply, and his advice is FREE.
Financial planning is the art, if you will, of understanding money, how it works, where it goes, and how to keep more of it. Your money is yours, and keeping your money in your pockets (as much as possible) is the goal of financial planning. It doesn't require a college degree, nor does financial planning require a keen mathematical ability. All you have to bring to the table is a desire to gain control over your money, and a willingness to do what is necessary to secure the financial future of you, your family, and your future generations.
Austin's goal for Money Mondays is to teach you how to gain control over your money and make it work for you - not someone else. Today is the first entry of Money Mondays, so we'll take it slow and build from there. If there is ever any topic you want to learn more about, simply suggest it in the comments section or visit Austin the Realtor's site for helpful hints. With that said, let's go!
Savings and Debt 101...by Austin the Realtor
Ever run out of money before the end of the month? Do you sometimes feel like you're robbing Peter to pay Paul? For many people, thinking about their finances and understanding how money works can be a bit overwhelming - they simply feel like there is too much going on, most of which is out of their control. However, it doesn't have to be that way. People looking for help are either buried with too much information or don't trust the people giving financial advice. With Money Mondays, Austin doesn't want to overwhelm, confuse or hoodwink you. He simply wants to try to provide information succinctly and simply, and his advice is FREE.
Financial planning is the art, if you will, of understanding money, how it works, where it goes, and how to keep more of it. Your money is yours, and keeping your money in your pockets (as much as possible) is the goal of financial planning. It doesn't require a college degree, nor does financial planning require a keen mathematical ability. All you have to bring to the table is a desire to gain control over your money, and a willingness to do what is necessary to secure the financial future of you, your family, and your future generations.Austin's goal for Money Mondays is to teach you how to gain control over your money and make it work for you - not someone else. Today is the first entry of Money Mondays, so we'll take it slow and build from there. If there is ever any topic you want to learn more about, simply suggest it in the comments section or visit Austin the Realtor's site for helpful hints. With that said, let's go!
Savings and Debt 101...by Austin the Realtor
Ok, I’ve been asked to provide some insight on what we will call “Money Mondays.” As noted on previous blogs, I’m a licensed Real Estate Agent and a Licensed Financial Representative, so I may some information that can be helpful.
I would like to start off the series by being inclusive of the blog family. Today I would like to focus on Savings and Debt. As we progress, together we will set up tools to assist in achieving short and long term goals. I will also provide some insight on the home buying process which may fall in line with some of these goals.
Let’s go…….
Let’s start off with the fundamentals. Knowing where your money goes is a good way to see where your money went! You would be surprised to see how much is spent on small frivolous purchases that can be avoided. It’s always good to have a record of expenses - and include ALL expenses. Everything from mortgage/rent to that cup of coffee every morning at your local coffee shop. A simple excel spreadsheet would suffice. Once your outflow is determined, record your income. Once this data is determined, you may see why you run a little low just before your next payday. Now it's time to trim the fat. Look at your list of outflows and see what you can do without. Make coffee at home instead of buying Starbucks (aka Four Bucks!). Buy a pack of bagels from the supermarket instead of spending $2.50 at Au Bon Pain. Whatever works for you - see how the numbers start to add up.
Note: Pay yourself just like any other bill. Set a dollar amount that is dedicated to savings and pay that with all of your other bills.
There are many apps that can assist with the record keeping also. For Android users – Tap Money and Budgetroid. For IPhone users – Budgetbuster and CoinKeeper.
Share some other tips you use to “trim the fat” without drastically changing your lifestyle - Go!
-Austin the Realtor
I would like to start off the series by being inclusive of the blog family. Today I would like to focus on Savings and Debt. As we progress, together we will set up tools to assist in achieving short and long term goals. I will also provide some insight on the home buying process which may fall in line with some of these goals.
Let’s go…….
Let’s start off with the fundamentals. Knowing where your money goes is a good way to see where your money went! You would be surprised to see how much is spent on small frivolous purchases that can be avoided. It’s always good to have a record of expenses - and include ALL expenses. Everything from mortgage/rent to that cup of coffee every morning at your local coffee shop. A simple excel spreadsheet would suffice. Once your outflow is determined, record your income. Once this data is determined, you may see why you run a little low just before your next payday. Now it's time to trim the fat. Look at your list of outflows and see what you can do without. Make coffee at home instead of buying Starbucks (aka Four Bucks!). Buy a pack of bagels from the supermarket instead of spending $2.50 at Au Bon Pain. Whatever works for you - see how the numbers start to add up.
Note: Pay yourself just like any other bill. Set a dollar amount that is dedicated to savings and pay that with all of your other bills.
There are many apps that can assist with the record keeping also. For Android users – Tap Money and Budgetroid. For IPhone users – Budgetbuster and CoinKeeper.
Share some other tips you use to “trim the fat” without drastically changing your lifestyle - Go!
-Austin the Realtor
"Like" Austin on Facebook
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
19 comments:
First Bitches!!!
Where did HE come from!? Dang it!
This was so helpful! I need to pay myself first, that's something I still don't do.
I started eating breakfast at home rather than buying it...eating cereal and stuff. Saved me a lot of money!
I HATE YOU GEEQUE!!!! lol
@Stef... Austin & I drive in and we try to eat before we leave or while in the car. I also started making coffee at home & using my to go cup. AND we try to bring our lunch to work in as OFTEN as possible. Even if we have no leftovers OR I want to leave leftovers for dinner the next day we always have a microwavable meal from Trader Joes that we can bring in to work for lunch. :-) My fav is the Mac & Cheese it's totally filling and at $2.99 it's much cheaper than your typical $10 Manhattan lunch. :-)
I love Money Mondays! I'm pretty good at paying myself, but I always fall short when it comes to buying lunch. I don't like to cook that much, and it's hard to cook for one person, so I usually buy lunch everyday. And you're right, $10 is a CHEAP lunch sometimes in Manhattan! I need to fix that, but lunch is the meal I look forward to the most...I tend to not eat dinner. Not good.
@Steph -Paying yourself is very helpful in building your savings account..
Definitely try doing it....
@Courtney.. I know I love lunch. What you can do is if you get take out for dinner try to get food from someplace that serves enough that you can take half for lunch the next day. If you spend $10 on take out and it feeds you for two meals you saved at least a lil something.
Or like I said try to find a trader joes/good supermarket near you. And get something you can bring in for lunch as opposed to buying lunch everyday. You would probably eat healthier too.
My co workers and I do cheap pizza day also. Since we work in the outer boros we have a Little Cesars near here. We get a pie & two orders of wings. There are 5 of us so we end up spending $3 for lunch as opposed to $10.. saved ourselves $7 on average that ONE day.
Great idea - never thought of that. Guess I'm just too greedy to share! LOL! :-)
I'll try Trader Joe's too.
If you miss a payment to yourself or you are late, penalize yourself. Charge yourself a late fee. Sacrifice so you treat yourself like any other creditor. It will pay off in the end.
This is great advice to start off with. Can't wait to read more in the Mondays to come!
Yeah for Money Mondays! This was great Austin! Once I go back to work I need to pay myself first to build up my acct! I looked at my going back to work budget and don't even have savings in there! Smh...
When I did work I took lunch in everyday! A lot of times it was left over dinner. I live alone and cool for myself, I just have left overs which is great and it ended up saving me money.
Austin what would you suggest to that person that has suffered a pay cut or has a low salary in regards to saving?
That's a good question Serena, that's the boat I'm in. I feel like I don't make enough money to pay myself.
How do you save enough money for a house, especially in NYC?
@Serena - when there is a downward adjustment in salary, there will be an adustment which may entail a slight if not major change in lifestyle. Things may get cut entirely (i.e cable, Ramen noodle lunch and dinners). Still treat your self as a creditor who may have lowered your mimimum payment. Try not to stop entirely. Its much easier to raise the amount then start over after stopping. Even if its $20, keep going.
@Jaz - in the words of Jay-Z "Men Lie, Women Lie, Numbers don't"
You have to lay out all your numbers and see what you can do. Slight changes in your daily routine can make a big difference. Saving for a house is a long term goal. You would want to start with a series of short term goals to reach the House Goal.
For example, I will not buy coffee 3 days a week. At $4 a cup, that's $12 a week saved. Next, take lunch 2 days a week. At $10 a pop, that's $20 saved. Now we at $32 a week, $128 a month. That's a nice chunk of change just by reducing coffee and lunch. You will be surprised how much you spend, you just don't see it.
Great answer! I do want to own a home in a couple of years and to Jaz's point how does one save for a home in a major city and how much would you suggest to have in the bank for emergency? Foe example (roof repair, siding repair, etc).
Okay, okay...I'm gonna write all this down tonight and see what I come up with :) Thanks!
Okay you answered saving for a house :)
@Serena - you should have at least 4-6 months of mortgage payments in reserves after your home purchase. Getting the house is the easy part, its the keeping and maintaining that drain new and unprepared homeowners. Don't rush into it. Review the engineers report......I'll stop there, this is a blog for another day :)
Thanks Austin! I'll save the real estate questions for that day ;)
Post a Comment