Have you started another year with less money than you need to make ends meet? Between Christmas, summer vacation and the start of the new school year (in the Southern Hemisphere), January can be wildly expensive. And with money being one of the top causes of stress in the world today, getting it under control should be a priority.

It can feel easier to bury your head in the sand when things feel hard, but in the long run it just makes the problem worse. So chin-up, listen to this week's episode and get your head around the first steps required to getting your money under control.

Show Notes

• [01.13] Starting the year in a difficult position.

• [03.09] The problem that we face

• [05.58] Balancing the budget

• [10.45] A daily decision

• [11.07] A protection barrier

• [13.27] A stress-free money system

• [14.20] Automate it
  

Quotes

“As much as we would like to run and hide from it, we actually have to step up and adult.’ – Lisa Linfield

“It doesn’t matter how many times you can do a budget, something always happens that knocks it off kilter and puts us in debt.” – Lisa Linfield

“It is a stress that truly keeps you up all the time.” – Lisa Linfield

“There’s got to be a day when we say, ‘Enough is enough!’ and we choose to do something about it.”

“There is a step-by-step method of things that you need to put in place, so that when emergencies hit, they don’t impact your day-to-day money system.” – Lisa Linfield

“Budgets and spreadsheets are not an exercise in making your numbers match. Budgets and spreadsheets are an exercise in mindfulness.” – Lisa Linfield

Related posts and episodes

• The human way to manage your monthly expenses

• Two Ways to Make More Money

• Turning your super-power into money with Zee Narajian

• Save for tomorrow, tomorrow

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TRANSCRIPT

Today I received a message from someone I’ve never met asking me to lend them R600.

Goodness, it must have been so hard for that person – to reach out and ask a stranger… nowhere to turn to. This time of year is hard… Holidays, back to school etc…and I totally get the stress. And, by now, many people find they’ve used up all their money… maxed their credit card debt… and are forced to take out loans... sometimes from unscrupulous people.

So let's talk through how you can deal this 

1.      Choose

This state of being right now is one of HUGE stress. Which, if you don't make it count for something, can cripple you. So how do you make it count? Well, most people find themselves in this position EVERY. SINGLE. JANUARY. So make this time count for something. "Frame the Pain" in a sort of "memory photograph" - one you can pull up in vivid detail next year - and make a choice:

• Doing nothing… you will find yourself in this position again next year

• Doing something… peace of mind and freedom from stress and maybe even start taking you in the direction towards building money

If you don't change the way you manage your money, you'll end here this time next year... again, and again, and again.

2.      Create a barrier of protection

• Imagine you could build a strong wall around your money system that protects you from getting derailed financially – that no matter what happens in life, your entire financial system won’t be derailed?

• You need to put in place the tools so that you don’t get taken into further difficulty – now, and in the future…

• So that you can survive not only Christmas and the new year, but also life’s unexpected knocks…

3.      Set up a system to manage your money

• So that it reduces the stress in your life

• And each day your money flows to where it needs to be automatically and you know EXACTLY where you stand.

4.      Squeeze more from your money

• Tools you can use that will help you save more money without you even feeling it…

•   … and in addition, use Worth it… episode 203…

… so that there’s more money to

(i)                  Kill the debt monster

(ii)                Save for goals

(iii)              Invest for freedom

As I said in Episode 203 – money takes time… and that’s the hardest part when you feel like so much is out of control… but the one thing I know to be true, there’s a recipe to wealth, and if you follow it, over time, you WILL reach your goals.

If you’re wanting to get your money under control, I’m running my Stress Free Money