Simple Tips on Managing Things that Flow: Money & Personal Space

So this is a chore chart and a budget. See some similarities? 

Our household chores and our money are always flowing. They don't have a clean beginning and an end. Plus we spend more money when we are unhappy with our space, often trying to buy temporary happiness.Think of how much your time is worth? Every-time you pay for something you are paying with the time it took you to earn it.

You have to constantly keep up with your laundry or dishes or you have no clean clothes to wear or dishes to eat off of. With your money if you don't keep up with what is going in and going out you often end up with overdraft charges, late bills, and no savings.
Both your home and your finances need constant attention and both are highly influenced by your emotions. If you are overworked and tired  (or go out to often) and have no dedicated time to clean your house or balance your checkbook/ accounts then your house (and I should add car) will be dirty and your checkbook will not be in balance and bills will get overlooked. You will feel the chaos. The good news is with a little effort you can have a peaceful home and know where your money is going avoiding late charges and having savings.You can also maintain a space you want to be in and that you have pride in, no matter how much money you have. Some people are more comfortable living on the edge of having enough money or living in a messy space. I often wonder if this is true or they are just overwhelmed and don't know where to seek help.


Simple tips on how to manage things that flow: Money and Personal Space 

Personal Space

1. Every time you get gas empty all the trash out of your car.
2. When you have your oil changed (every 3500 to 7000 miles) use a place that offers a cleaning with the oil change or change it yourself and  use this time to wash the car, vacuum it and wipe down the interior and spray the tires with a tire cleaner. A clean car body last longer. Also have your tires rotated at least twice a year. 
3. This is something I have done for years daily and it takes about 30 minutes. Make your bed, do all the dishes and wipe down counters, wash, dry and fold a load of laundry, pick up any loose trash, put up random shoes and clothes and do a quick tidying up. If you haven't done this the first time with take awhile but as you get caught up it's shorter and shorter. Have family members pitch it. Set a time for 10 to 30 minutes and everyone works on something.
4. Weekly or every two weeks: Dust, Windex, clean the bathrooms, vacuum and mop, change the sheets. Also change cat litter, do yard chores.
5. Plan days where you go through a drawer, a closet, files etc and clean them out for a hour, or half a day or a whole day. The key is to set some time for this monthly, or quarterly. Do a little at a time or a whole day. Take some things to Goodwill, sell some stuff at the auction or the resale shop, and trash the rest. *This is a great financial motivator as well when you see all you buy that ends up as things you don't need.
6. Put together outfits in your closet that you can grab and go. This will amaze you and save on time, mess and money.
7. When it's time to buy groceries go through the fridge quickly and dump out anything you don't need (leftovers from 2 weeks ago plus expired stuff ) and wipe down the inside really quick. 
8. Do the same with your cabinets, when they are empty (need to go the store or dishes are in the dishwasher) take a damp cloth and wipe them down. 
9. When you are done washing dishes take a damp cloth and wipe any marks off the cabinet fronts or walls. 
10. Finally add some special touches to your house cheaply to make you want to be there. A clean house is a house you will want to stay in. Adding twinkle lights, candles, comfy throws and getting rid of clutter makes a home feel homier. Also some people like to bring in things from outdoors like flowers and twigs and pine cones. Put a chair, side table, lamp and foot stool by a sunny window for reading (usually South or West Facing). This is all cheap and makes you appreciate your space which leads to better emotional health and saves money because you will not want to leave and you may actually want to have people over. 

Your Finances: Simple Tips for Financial Flow

1. Balance your checkbook/ accounts  weekly.
2. Keep a certain amount of cash for purchases (look into envelope plans or simply keep the cash you have set aside and mark it. Example: Fun Money, Groceries),
3. Pay your bills and then take out for fun money. 
4. On a simple piece of paper write down all of your bills and add them up, know the totals owed and the payments. This is crucial. You must know where you are to get where you are going. Do this monthly. 
5. Write down what you make a month. Subtract your fixed bills, groceries, gas and savings from this and that is your fun money. 
6. Always have an emergency fund. Emergencies will happen. Period. Everyone's car breaks down, dishwasher breaks, kids falls and needs stitches (hello hospital bill). Don't use this for paying the quarterly insurance payment that you knew was coming, that is a fixed expense.
7. Have a plan for where your money is going. My step mom taught me this years ago. Write down the days you get paid and the bills that are due and correlate them. Save for big bills weekly. For instance don't try to use your whole paycheck to pay rent one week, instead hold out a little each paycheck for when rent is due. Same goes for those quarterly expenses.
8. Whatever you do don't go out and spend your money before bills are paid. This is what children do, you are an adult and adults pay their bills on time. Things happen in life sometimes beyond our control I realize this. I had a car wreck, divorce, my first husband had debt that I didn't know about in my name, and I had a medical emergency all in a 18 month period, after that I had to file bankruptcy. I was 20 years old, naive and learned some grown up lessons fast. That was when I took charge and started to learn as much as I could about personal finance. No matter what has happened to you or mistakes you have made, you can recover and start new. 
9. Check your credit score at least once a year and make sure you know what is on there. You can get one free every year from Experiean, TranUnion and Equifax. You can dispute a charge and the company that has the charge on your report has to prove that you didn't handle it. A bad credit score effects your insurance rates, your ability to get a loan for a car or house, and the rates you get charged for interest. If you are deemed a risk you pay higher rates. I use an online service called Credit Karma.
10. As much as you can pay as you go and avoid debt, especially credit card debt. People who use credit cards spend approx 16% more when using a credit card then when they have to pull cash out. Don't buy things you can't afford. Let go of allowing material things to feed your soul, that is temporary and doesn't last. Look to your inner character for your happiness and find meaning in the things that matter. To define this make a list of 10 things that bring you happiness. * I would bet money that at least 7 of them don't cost anything or they are very cheap.

Lastly: Taking care of what you have and taking pride in your possessions by caring for them, your appearance by being clean and put together has nothing to do with money. My family on both sides taught me that class is not about what's in your bank account but how you value and take pride in what you have been given by God and by the quality of your character.  

Love and Light,
Courtney