Are you on a money treadmill–doing the same things over and over, but getting nowhere?
Our family was on a treadmill for years. We kept repeating the cycles of spending whatever money we had, expecting too little of ourselves and continuing a poverty mindset (“We never have enough.” “We are never going to have enough.”).
Finally we decided that we were tired of the drama and our low standards.
If you are tired too, there are 3 keys to getting off your money treadmill.
Stop and Look in the Mirror
Take a look at where you are. Do you want to continue to live paycheck to paycheck, going from one crisis to the next, or do you want to have peace and be in control of your money?
When we finally got tired of the consequences of not being in control, we decided to take an honest look at how we were spending our money. We recorded every penny spent and then determined where our money leaks were.
Choose Your Destination
If you have been working hard, but getting nowhere financially, you will want to decide how you want things to change. Where do you want to go? You want your efforts to result in something tangible: money saved, lives changed, investments made.
We started with a few specific short term goals like having $1000 in an emergency fund and saving for needed car repairs, but we also made some bigger goals including giving at least $1000 away to people and causes we believe in.
Take some time to write down a few goals for your own life, some small and some large.
Do Something Different
You have probably heard that the definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over and expecting different results. In order to change our finances, we can’t keep doing the same things. We have to change our everyday habits.
It’s obvious, but sometimes we forget: You cannot save money that you spend. Yes, you can make more money, but to save money we have to stop spending it on frivolous items that prevent us from reaching our true goals and priorities.
Making one small change can get you off the treadmill.
Make coffee at home and save the $5 you were spending every day at the coffee shop.
Make a menu plan for this week and buy only what you need at the grocery store.
Find an online workout and cancel your gym membership.
Start a home business to bring in more income.
No matter what has happened in the past, you can get off the treadmill and start in a new direction. Today is a new day!
What is one small change that you will make today to get off your money treadmill? Leave a comment.
Image courtesy of John Kasawa/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net
We used to do Dave Ramsey the Evelope System but I got lazy 🙁 and tired of “saving”. Our grocery budget went up by $100 per month due to me snacking in the car and using the drive through. After 3 months of doing it I had to admit we spend $300 that we could have used on more important things then food. This week we are back on track and we will have some breakfast foods for dinner to safe on money. I used to get a large $1 coke at McDonalds almost every day and my husband too that was $60 per month just on Soda 🙁 Wow not happy about it and we are changing it plus my hips would look better too if I reduced my Soda intake.
Good for you for getting back on track Monika! We have to re-evaluate on a regular basis because those habits sneak in quickly.
I use YNAB (you need a budget) software that I purchased online, after having a buffer between paychecks, I’ve started rounding down my paycheck to the nearest hundred and putting the rest in savings every week. I am still able to manage everything while enjoying seeing my savings grow! It was awkward at first but now its fine, and my friends and family understand when I say “It’s not in the budget!” Hopefully in the next few months I can increase my savings to $100 a week!
That is an awesome idea Verolee! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
I love that idea of rounding down to the nearest 100$ My kids have been really patient and have come to know that when they ask for something i will probably say … “it is not in the budget right now.”
I so badly miss my gym membership, my dunkins’ coffee and eating out – but I’m staying focused. I just started in January to really watch what we spend. My husband is going to be a stay at home dad starting in June and I’m scared to death of living on one income. I’m so glad I found your blog – I’m looking forward to catching up on your posts to see where I can trim more spending.
Welcome Tina! Hopefully you can have an occasional coffee and dinner out once you reach your goal. Good for you for staying focused!
thank you for these encouraging words this morning! we are saving for our wedding while my fiancee just started being back in school after work and the funds just feel like they’re disappearing; I’m posting this on my office wall 🙂
So glad I could encourage you Kelly! 🙂
My change I’ve been working on implementing recently is if I have extra money left over in say, my grocery budget, I need to either put it towards debt or in savings, instead of thinking I have extra spending money to spend on something I don’t need, like clothes.
That was a big change for me as well Julie. It really helped us to have our savings goals posted on the fridge where we can see them regularly.