March 25, 2015
Living below your means is a critical step toward getting your financial house in order. How do you do it? Why should you do it?
Living below your means is a critical step toward getting your financial house in order. How do you do it? Why should you do it?
Pay yourself first is a good first step to living below your means, set aside some money every pay check when you first get it and invest that money in either your retirement fund or emergency fund. You need to make sure that you do not spend more then what you make after taxes. Make sure to be aware of your net pay. You want to always live below your means so you can save money and not live paycheck to paycheck. Try to save at least 20% of your pay every time.
Money out < Money In. Living below your means is as simple as that. Spend less than you make. Save the difference.
You can do that by eliminating extra things like cable TV, having a less expensive phone (dumb phone $20/month vs smart phone $60+/month), reducing the insurance on your vehicle from full coverage to liability only. You should only do this after you have purchased a reliable used vehicle and completely paid it off, which you should purchase in cash. There are so many ways to reduce the money out. Alternatively you could gain skills that allow you to get a better job. Make more money and you’ll be able to live within your new means. Both are important. You should do this for many reasons. The main being if you don’t live within your means now that means you are incurring debt and you will eventually have to pay for it sometime. If you don’t force yourself to live within your means now someone will force you to in the future and it will be much less fun if you have to do it than if you choose to do it. It gives you freedom.
Great comments everyone. I have nothing to add.