Don’t Be That Girl: 3 Ways to Master Money

In one way or another, we’ve all been there.  Enjoying a night out with friends celebrating whatever, ordering apps, drinks, and desserts.  Everybody’s living their best life!  

Then, the server comes with the bill and suddenly the person who agreed to order everything is only responsible for the $6.99 hot wings and one drink.  While it was fun to live in the moment, their bank account was saying, “Slow down girl, you have $30.66 right now!”  

Now there’s a decision to make: keep playing the cheap route and risk her friends looking at her sideways or go ahead and admit she doesn’t have enough to cover her part of the bill and ask a friend to cover her.

DON’T BE THAT GIRL!

If you’re a true millennial, you’ve probably experienced the world during the worst economic time of the 21st Century, the recession of 2008.  Some of us were either in high school and watched our parents have their cars repossessed, homes foreclosed, or worse, lose jobs. Some of us experienced how difficult it was to get jobs right out of college or have to work jobs that had nothing to do with our fields of study.  As a result, many of us are drowning in student loan debt.  

Whichever side of things you experienced, we got a first-hand taste of financial heartache.  The good news is, that was over 10 years ago. Things have taken a turn for the better and we don’t have to let money problems be the theme for our lives. 

Not having money for basic needs or just to chill with friends or buy that super cute bag is NOT fun!  Thankfully, it’s never too late to get our coins together!

Here are  3 ways to help you master money…

Get A Budget - Before you can master anything, it’s important to know what you’re working with.  Whether you choose a traditional pen and paper method or use apps like Mint, You Need A Budget, Prism, or others; make sure that you know how much money is coming in and going out each month.  Then, decide how much money goes to each expense.

There are a lot of budgeting methods too!  Using methods like the 50/30/20 budget allocates 50% of your income to needs like rent, utilities, and food.  Put 30% of your income to wants like Netflix, a girls’ trip, or fancy lattes, and 20% to savings. This would include paying yourself first, tithes, investments or debt repayment.

Save for An Emergency Fund - It’s recommended that people save at least 6 months of their expenses in an Emergency Fund.  Starting out, that can be difficult to attain unless you’re super disciplined. If you are...GO, GIRL! For the rest of us, $1,000 is a good place to start.  Use the budget you created from Step 1 to determine how much you can put back per pay, or per month in savings. The easiest thing to do after you’ve found your savings amount is to create a direct deposit so you know it goes into your account.  You don’t have to touch it or stop at the bank. Just let it build each month until you hit your goal!

1. Find Money -  There are a ton of ways to make money online.  Why let those coins go to waste? If we know where to look, there are opportunities all around; starting in our homes.  

Use apps like Poshmark or Mercari to sell your gently used items.  There is a nominal seller’s fee, but if you have some good stuff in your closet that you’re not wearing, it’s worth it!

Save money when you shop by using money-saving apps like Ebates, Ibotta, and Retail Me Not to save money on purchases that you would make anyway.  When a certain dollar amount is saved, it can be transferred to your account. Hold on to your receipts, though!

Are you gifted and talented?  Of course, you are! Monetize yourself!  Maybe you’re great at graphic design, have a knack for helping others discover their purpose, give awesome speeches, write great copy, or create websites.  Whatever your “it” is, place a value on it and add a second stream of income to your life.

There are literally a ton of other things I could mention here. Mastering money takes some time and comes with some trial and error, but this is a great place to start.  Nobody wants to be in a position to not have what they need.  

Take these tips and see where you are in a couple of months.  Who knows, maybe next time the check will be on you!

 

By: Danada Hart