Let The Past Be Your Teacher

It's December! The countdown to the New Year has begun. For those taking advantage of the budget spreadsheet from the November blog, you are either happy that you have organized your gift giving this year or you are panicking because you have already blown your Christmas budget. No matter which boat you fall into, there are some key habits to develop now that will help

make you a wiser spender in the future!

Now that you have a budget, what is next? Have you taken the time to go back over your budget at the end of the month? Better yet, do you make it a practice to review your bank statement and credit card statement at the end of each billing cycle? It is amazing to actually see how and where your money is being spent. Making this a habit will help you question some of those superfluous purchases that you made. For example, did you really need to buy that Venti Frappuccino from Starbucks? Did you really need to buy breakfast from the diner every day this week? Did you really need to buy a 5th little black dress for your date with a new guy who has not seen your other 4 black dresses? Did you really need to buy the new Viva Glam lipstick from MAC?

Think about this, a venti (large) latte from Starbucks costs about $4.65 while a tall (small) costs about $3.65. That is a $1 difference. Say you purchase Starbucks 4 days a week for 52 weeks out of the year…..you will have spent $967.2 on Venti coffee’s in a year. I feel that every working adult should treat themselves to something they like, but ask yourself, could I have gotten a small and spent only $759.20 or could I have purchased a medium latte from McDonalds for $2.89 and spent $601.12 versus $967.30? Then ask yourself, what could I do with an extra $366.08?

Life is about choices and consequences for the choices that we make. It’s up to us to look at our past and evaluate the choices we made and commit to making wiser choices for the future. So, this month, I challenge you to look over your credit card statements and your budget and figure out what purchases were unnecessary. Once you highlight the “I really didn’t need those” purchases, commit to doing better for the month of December. You will be amazed at the money you are able to keep in your pocket or better yet, you will be pleasantly surprised at the amount of extra money you have to put towards your holiday shopping.

Your Fiscal Fitness Trainer,

Selena J. Roker