86: Launching the New Year with a Plan

• Did you know that an effective budget can assist you in distinguishing between your needs and wants? It can significantly help control unnecessary spending and adjust to any changes in your financial situation over time.

• Brief Summary of objectives (3):
   
  • To start, we will discuss what a budget is and the importance of grasping its fundamentals. 
  • Next, we’ll take a significant step by planning your budget to align with your lifestyle.
  • Finally, explore your money personality and understand its relevance to your way of living. 

Call to action: I invite you to visit the Stacked Intent Free Resource for the Unmasking Your Money Personality Quiz. Discover your money personality and gain valuable insights into your financial mindset. Now, take the time to set up a money date with yourself!

Thank you for tuning into Stacked Intent to be authentically YOU! Be sure to leave a review and follow us on instagram.

Chapters

• 1:50 Topic 1: Let’s talk about what is a budget
• 4:28 Topic 2: Creating a budget with your income and resources
• 11:52 Monthly Date
• 12:23 Topic 3: Money Personalities

Transcript

Launching the New Year with a Plan 

Did you know that an effective budget can assist you in distinguishing between your needs and wants? It can significantly help control unnecessary spending and adjust to any changes in your financial situation over time.

Brief Summary of objectives (3):

• To start, we will discuss what a budget is and the importance of grasping its fundamentals. 
• Next, we’ll take a significant step by planning your budget to align with your lifestyle. 
• Finally, explore your money personality and understand its relevance to your way of living. 

Topic 1: Let’s talk about what is a budget 

• The word budget means different things to people, but we believe this might be a struggle because you are in a cannot afford or prioritizing what it is for a goal in your financial determination. 
• It is learning that creating a budget you are choosing where your money is going and creating budgets as healthy words in your life rather than it being something that comes with negativity. Because when you think about a budget to its simplest form of it is about your income and expenses.  
• You can create budget that is bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly. You can have it in a combination of different ways of a budget from a yearly that you break it down into a smaller budget to execute. Budgets aren’t one-size-fits-all your budget needs to be tailored to you. 
• There are a few 101 budgeting tips to live by as we get it set-up: avoid debt, track your income, manage your expenses, identify your needs vs wants, find a budgeting tool, find ways to reducing your costs through food, personal expenses, utilities/phone, health care, transportation, and entertainment are all places that we are going to talk through in today’s conversations.  

Topic 2: Creating a budget with your income and resources  

• Start as you are creating your budget, you’ll begin to identify what your wants and needs are going to be. And I fully believe that this is dependent on you what is important to you. This would be to identify based on your fixed and variable expenses, this is where you might find personal identification for some of those spaces. You’ll be able to find personalization on things like eating out because this might limit your budget of you only eat out once a week and help you adhere to your budgeting.  But this is why it is important to identify what is needed in this area. You’ll be reviewing your spending patterns of figuring out your spending habits and see where your priorities in spending looks like. Take the time to pause and come in from each of those. 
  • Knowing your needs and wants helps you to reducing the spending habits. This will help you in spending your overall with reasonable limits for yourself. Be present and honest with what you want this year. 
  • You can put yourself on a weekly or monthly budget, but this will help you stick the budget. 
• When you talk about coming up with a plan your first step to budgeting it to figure out what your total income looks like. If your funds are coming from different sources having this all connected into one place, so you see the completeness of what is coming to create your funds. This could include things like work, contributions, financial aid, child support, side hustles, or others. You must pause to see what the month income is to be able to create a budget.  
• It is a good idea that if you are needing to underestimate your budget of your income than to overestimate, because it is better to underspend on your finances than to completely overspend and spend outside of your budget. 
• The next step is that you’ll need to track your spending. This is best to do over the course of three months because this gives you a more honest option for what you spend month to month. Through online bank you are able to see account break downs either on a debit or credit card of what your spending looks like from month to month and break it into categories. 
• Your funding is going to fall into two categories that will be fixed expenses and variable expenses. Understanding what your expenses look like can be helpful in what your goals might look like. Unlike underestimating your income, you want too slightly overestimate your expenses
  • Fixed are typically expenses like your mortgage or rent, cell phone bill, utility bills, car payments, insurances, gym memberships 
  • Variables are ones we have every month, but how much they are flexible month to month. It might be your groceries, eating out, entertainment
• Once you’ve created your budget you need to balance your budget. This takes an active role from you. You must make sure that you are a part of what is happening in your finances. If you come up with extra money it can be a best practice to make sure you put at least part if not all into a savings funds. Though if you are working on debit or student loans then you might consider putting these extra funds toward a payment. 
• In creating your budget be sure that you are creating your budget. This can look like short-term, medium-term, and long-term.
  • Short-Term is something that is in the next 0-12 months 
  • Medium-Term is something that is in the next 1 – 3 years that you might be saving up for something like a vacation. 
  • Long-Term is something that is longer than three years such as a car, paying of loans, big travel. 
• This will help you to find what you need in your goals. This is something that is something that is important in your goals.  As you are setting your financial goals you’ll want to use SMART goals:
  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Achievable
  • Relevant 
  • Time-Bound
• Though it is important for you to avoid debt traps. It is the spending that is in you have the power on. You have to look at your reality of adjusting your spending of the live responsibly of looking at what you have for funds and make sure you live with what you have not with what you want to get. 
• I believe in the use of credit cards but use them wisely. When you use your credit cards. It is important then when you are spending on a credit card to not also spend the same money out of your debit accounts. This is helpful in building points and credits and things such as that.  
• The it is on you to maintain your budget and you have the will to knock this out and get it taken care of. Remember that if you try one tool and it doesn’t work for you then make sure you try another one. It is important to find the tool that works for you best. 
  • Use a budget sheet
  • Spreadsheets 
  • Websites and apps 
• Remember that your budget it a living thing that is not indented to be forever, but it will change as your life changes. Keep a check in with it. I challenge you to set up a monthly date with yourself and finances. 
  • Help automate the parts of your finances that you can automatically transfers into direct accounts, investing of your funds, pay your bills if you’re able to.

Topic 3: Money Personalities  

• Did you know that determining your money personality can provide many insights into what sort of relationship you have with money. This is important to understand and give better personal strategy goals for financial goals. Because it will help you build a better financial relationship. 
• I find that when you understand your money personality it makes it a lot easier to find your spaces for creating your budget and planning easier. Because when you truly understand you then you will find your underlying habits and behaviors. 
• Here are the money personality traits that you can find which one you are based and then able to discover your finances. 

I have outlined five personality traits that are general 

A) Extravagant Explorer: You enjoy indulging in life's pleasures and prioritize experiences over long-term financial stability. You tend to splurge on luxuries and value immediate enjoyment.

B) Prudent Preserver: You prioritize saving for the future and building financial security. You are cautious about debt, set aside savings regularly, and have clear financial goals.

C) Stylish Consumer: You enjoy adding flair to your life through stylish purchases that reflect your personal taste and interests. You prioritize design and aesthetics in your spending decisions.

D) Financial Balancer: You manage debt strategically, using it as a tool to achieve financial goals while maintaining overall financial harmony. You understand the importance of balancing spending and saving.

E) Strategic Wealth Builder: You focus on long-term financial goals and invest strategically to build wealth over time. You have a diversified investment portfolio and make informed decisions based on market analysis.

Recap:

To start, we will discuss what a budget is and the importance of grasping its fundamentals. 

Next, we’ll take a significant step by planning your budget to align with your lifestyle. 

Finally, explore your money personality and understand its relevance to your way of living. 

Call to action: I invite you to visit the Stacked Intent Free Resource for the Unmasking Your Money Personality Quiz. Discover your money personality and gain valuable insights into your financial mindset. Now, take the time to set up a money date with yourself!