Alright honestly, the things I will say are going to be very cliche, and things that everyone should know, BUT sometimes common sense isn’t so common right?

Everything I am about to write about could essentially be summed up in these 7 Words:

DON’T SPEND MORE MONEY THAN YOU MAKE!

That should just end there, but just like in weight loss, everyone is looking for the secret formula. Highkey the formula is what I just put above. That is the secret formula to not being broke. For the visual learners I will actually put some formulas down here for everyone to see:

Income – Expenses = Net Income (Money You should have left over after paying all your bills)

• If that amount is Positive, Good! You did the thing!
• If that amount is Negative, You’re in debt.

But Mr. Wannabe, What if the amount left over if very little?

I know what that feels like for sure. I’ve been there and I am still kind of there, which is why I’m writing about this. Personal Finance is one of the things I’m getting better at, but still pretty bad at.

So there are many different ways to not be broke, and what it takes is consistency. I’m bad at being consistent, and I know many other people are in the same boat.

This is what it takes not to be broke:

1. Have a Job. A job is anything that brings you an income. No matter what anyone else tells you, you will always have to trade your time for money. Passive Income building comes later after you have a solid base to build off of. (Depending on you’re situation you may need to take on more than 1 or maybe some side hustles LEGAL ONES PLEASE lol).
2. Create a Monthly Budget and stick to it. Don’t make your budgets too extreme! It’s like a diet, the harsher it is the more likely you are to cheat. Use Excel for a budget sheet because they have so many templates out there that you can use to track things. You can also download something like the “Mint” App. It will also help keep track of spending.
3. Save a portion of your Income every paycheck. Set a certain percentage every month even if it’s something like saving 10% every paycheck, that’s a start!
   Savings will depend per situation because some people have debt they’re trying to pay off and they are saving less because of that.
4. Pay off your debt as fast as possible. Debt accrues Interest. Interest = you are paying more money on what you owe. Do your best to stay debt free!
5. Don’t buy unnecessary things. Do you really need the next iPhone? Do you really need new shoes? Some of these things are more WANTS than they are NEEDS.
   Yes it is okay every now and then to go grab something nice or get something new, but it shouldn’t be often.
6. Find ways to cut back on spending. For 1 Month, analyze what your spending habits are and from there see what you can cut back on! For example, I can definitely cut back on going out to eat and IT’S SUPER DIFFICULT! D:
7. INVEST A PORTION OF YOUR INCOME EVERY MONTH INTO THINGS THAT ARE PROVEN TO PROVIDE RETURNS ON YOUR INVESTMENT.
   I will get into this in a more detailed blog later on, but start with some basic contributions to a ROTH IRA/IRA, Index Funds, etc. just to get yourself started while you study up and become a savvy investor. Once again this will depend on your budget, but in general starting with about 10% a paycheck can also work.
   
   P.S. please avoid Bitcoin and other hype investments if you don’t know what you’re doing. It’s a great way to get super broke!

In a nutshell: Have income coming end, don’t spend it all, save some, invest some. Tada all of a sudden you’ll start to be less broke! Things will differ because each persons situation is different. A single person living with their parents are going to have different personal finances as opposed to a family of 5. Do what is prudent for your situation while being able to stick to a budget.

I’m still on my journey of becoming less broke and having some financial independence, but just like I said earlier, it will take consistency and work to reach financial goals and milestones.