Did you know that 80% of millionaires are self-made? Meaning they are first-generation millionaires. Meaning, that they did not just inherit their money and wealth
So, how did that happen? Did they just become a millionaire overnight by getting lucky and winning the wealth lottery? Did it happen by accident?
Of course not!
It happened on purpose, by them being intentional with their money.
If you want to get fit and live a healthy lifestyle, you have to be intentional. You can’t just sit on the couch eating junk food and daydream about it.
You have to make it happen, by developing habits to get you there. Now, what habits can you develop to be intentional with your money?
Let’s find out –
CREATE A MONTHLY BUDGET
First things first.
You have to take control of your money, instead of it controlling you!
The best way to do this is to create a budget. A budget tells your money where to go, instead of wondering where it went.
And it’s the best way to evaluate your poor spending habits and nip them in the bud.
Once you have your budget figured out, you can see just how much money you have to put towards your financial goals every month.
This number may shock you. Many people don’t realize how much leftover income they actually have, because they are just mindlessly spending it! I know I was shocked when I first figured out my numbers!
Which is why this is the first step to being intentional with your money. Now let’s see the second step.
LIST FINANCIAL GOALS
After you figure out how much money you have leftover, you need to give that money a place to go. Preferably an intentional financial goal.
Listing your financial goals is the best motivation to help you stay focused and be intentional with your spending.
Listing your goals also makes the process seem less stressful. When you abstractly think about your goals and where you want to be financially, it can feel overwhelming and unachievable.
However, when you make a list. You can focus on each goal instead of the whole overwhelming picture.
Let’s say your overall financial goal is to reach millionaire status. Okay, that’s kind of overwhelming… and seems impracticable.
BUT!
If you list your financial goals to get to millionaire status, like –
- Pay off debt
- Build an emergency fund
- Invest in retirement
- Pay off home early
- Build wealth!
Then you can attack each goal one by one.
TRACK NET WORTH
Tracking your net worth also helps you stay focused and get motivated to remain intentional with your money. Download the net worth template to start tracking yours!
When you track your progress it’s easy to get excited, because the numbers don’t lie!
Seeing your net worth slowly but steadily creep up to your end goal is such a rewarding feeling. And you should be proud of yourself. You are the only one that knows what happens behind closed doors to get your increase in net worth.
So, it’s okay to pat yourself on the back and be proud of your progress. But the only way to do that is to track your progress!
REVIEW AND ANALYZE
Lastly, you can’t just track all this data and then do nothing with it. You have to review it, regularly. And analyze it!
For instance, you are reviewing your financial goals. And you realize that you don’t have any financial goals for a baby that you want to have in the near future.
So, you analyze your list and decide the best place to squeeze that new goal in. Or you are reviewing your net worth progress and aren’t happy with how slow the progress is going. Then you decide to analyze your monthly budget to see if there are any expenses you can cut to speed up your financial goals!
Whatever your situation is, regularly reviewing and analyzing all of your data and progress will open your eyes to several possibilities. Even if you think everything’s set in stone and you’re perfectly content with your budget and lists. I encourage you to take a second look.
Always, always strive to make everything better than it was yesterday! Even when you don’t think that’s possible! Follow along for more money tips.
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