The ongoing habits

You need to dedicate around one hour per month (around 10-15 minutes per week) to review your expenditure and how you’re tracking against your Money Goals. The main elements include:

• On the first of each month review your expenses in each bucket verses your goals and update your spreadsheet with the outcome. This will give you a track record and build up a history of data. In time, you’ll intuitively understand your spending and money habits intimately.
• Did you exceed your budget or come in well underneath?
• Re-evaluate your budget each month.
• Does it remain the same? Or does it need to be increased or reduced?
• Were all of your expenses paid for from the correct bucket?
• Are you happy that you have the categories in the correct buckets?
• Catch up with your spouse to discuss the outcomes.
• Check in whether your partner is still motivated?
• What can you do to make it easy, and perhaps even fun so they can look forward to this little monthly catch up?

In ‘12 Rules For Life– an antidote to chaos’ by Jordan B Peterson, two aspects of his book resonate clearly with the power of money management. One is the reference to our life being constantly somewhere on a scale that has ‘Chaos’ at one end and ‘Order’ at the other.

The other was his Rule # 6 – ‘Set your house in perfect order before you criticise the world’.

These two excerpts from this international bestselling book speak to us directly about the power of having an effective Money Management System in our lives. Money Management is not just about saving money to invest. It is much, much more than that. It can create order in your life. It can mean setting great habits for your children. It can mean you are more at peace with the world, where you’ll find you’re less likely to ‘criticise the world’ to use Jordan’s terminology for your own downfalls. A successful Money Management System will ensure you’ll feel like you’re winning against the large corporations who you pay money to each month, rather than being on the receiving end! You’re now working the system to your advantage and rowing with the current downstream. It can transpire into greater harmony at home. And ultimately, it can result in financial independence if you’ve practised this over the remainder of your life. As we know, once something becomes a habit, it takes very little effort to keep it going.

The Property Planners’ Money Tip – The power of habit building!

The right discipline goes a long way but developing the habits for discipline is only hard in the beginning. The latest research suggests it takes an average of 66 days to establish a habit. That is just three months of effectively using your Money Management System. Why not gift this to yourself and your family for financial piece of mind!

Let’s face it, money is a necessity to live life. The way we manage it does impact us emotionally. It just makes sense to approach how we accumulate money with an investment of time, energy and thought. Huge benefits will pay off, both financially and emotionally.

It’s your choice

Whether you focus on debt reduction, investment or a combination, the benefits of developing successful habits via your personalised Money Management System will be life changing.

Is it time to incorporate a Money Management System into your mortgage strategy to support your Property Planning?

Contact us today to book in a free confidential property planning, strategic mortgage broking, money management or property select meeting.