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My apologies for delaying this next segment. I did it on purpose, to help show the process we all get ourselves into. I made lots of excuses for not posting this next part-- but you all are about to learn why I waited one month.
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OK, everyone, two hours from now marks exactly ONE MONTH since I posted the first part of "Taking Action".
Time for the big eye opener:
How many of you have taken action?
The first, and most critical part, of taking action is taking a HARD look at your expenses.
Tracking expenses is the #1 stumbling block for anyone seeking financial independence.
So, you knew it was important. Did you track all of your expenses this past month?
We all have our reasons for not keeping track of our expenses:
-Too busy
-Don't have that spiffy bookeeping software installed
-Had too many other important things going on
-Family/work/personal obligations
-Emergencies, projects that needed to get done, etc.
Ask yourself this question:
Do I know exactly how much I spent this past month?
Have you kept track and been mindful of your "out of pocket" purchases? (fast food, coffee, drinks, small indulgences, etc).
Do you know this-- to the penny?
If you answered "no"-- I have just one question:
If financial awareness is a #1 or at least a "Top 10" life priority for you,
how come you are not taking the most basic step to be aware of your finances?
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I know some of you have been keeping track of your day to day expenses already, for months or years.
This post is not for you (and we will be getting to the next step, very soon-- promise!!)
This post is for all the people out there who truly want to work at developing their PLAN and becoming financially free.
If you haven't kept track of your expenses, why not?
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Some history:
I read dozens of financial books. I'm guessing many of you have done the same.
Intellectually I "knew" what to do, since I had read it lots of times: Keep track of my expenses.
Did I do it?
Nope.
Why not?
I told myself I was too busy, I needed some special software, I had projects due, etc.
BUT- it wasn't until I actually started keeping track of my expenses that my life started to change--in a big way.
I started to actually see my spending patterns. Some days, I'd forget I was supposed to keep track, and when I started writing down all the things I'd spent money on just in the past few hours, I was just blown away by my spending habits.
Money was running through my hands like sand.
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So, I ask this in all sincerity:
How can you develop a financial PLAN that takes care of your needs, if you don't know exactly what those needs cost?
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If you haven't figured out what you spent on yourself this past month-- or year-- you need to do this.
Tomorrow is October 15, the deadline for all extensions on personal income tax returns.
Chances are, by now, you've figured out how much you spent last year.
Perhaps not.
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If not, now is the time to put together a list of expenses.
And my sincere apologies to any of you who feel "hoodwinked" or tricked. This was not, not, not my intention.
What I wanted to do with this exercise (and the delay of 1 month) is have all of us identify what's important to us-- and-- then--- take the first step by tracking our expenses.
In other words, identify the things that mean the most to us.
Then, take the very first ACTION step and track personal expenses.
Because if you don't know where you are now, you won't know where you're going (or how fast).
BTW, it's not too late to start tracking expenses, if you haven't already started.
It's never too late!
Start, if you haven't already!
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I'm hoping that if you worked on the first parts, and really kinda "skimmed over" the "track all my expenses" part, that this post is a wake up call to you-- to get over the anger you may feel at me right now, and deal instead with the WHY of WHY you didn't do this part.
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Because truly finding the answer to WHY may bust this whole thing wide open for you.
-Russ H.