All the Little Things that Matter

If you are a motivated individual looking to learn the basics of investing and wanting to get started at an opportune moment in time, this is an excellent read. In this article, our intern reveals how he got started with investing and his journey through investing as he taught himself to use the tools and gather the resources accessible to anyone.

This is provided as an interesting anecdote of how someone got started with investing and stays motivated to follow their investments. If you are looking to get started, this article will provide you with a framework to get started on your own. It is not a recommendation for you follow these steps nor is this an endorsement of the any websites mentioned in the article.

By David Walker

When I was younger the term "sticking to a budget" was something I thought only poor people did. I thought if you have the money why not spend it? Right? That's what it's there for. You worked for it so do as you please.

Now that might be true, but once you become an adult you come to learn the world isn't that simple. No one is going to take care of you. There's no such thing as a free lunch. Everything comes at a price. Now that doesn't mean you can't spend your money. I've just learned that there is a line between needs and wants and if that fine line isn't treading lightly there are consequences that range from not having money for the little things, to debt, to bankruptcy.

So, a few important things I've learned is to set up a budget that can keep my finances in check and also might be able to give me some play room.

Net Income

The first step I took to creating a budget was figuring out what my net income was. This is the total left over after you subtract your expenses from income. And then the next step would be to set some money aside for you to play with. It's always important to pay yourself first each month before anything else. If you try to go cold turkey and don't let yourself enjoy any of your money that's how splurges happen.

Emergency Fund

When it comes to the rest of your money it's important to set aside an emergency fund. That is something that you don't touch except for emergencies it can go from 3-6 months to a year's worth of expenses. This is one of the most important steps to take. No one knows what life will throw their way so it's important to remember that life almost never goes as planned. So, always hope for the best, but plan for the worst. This step can relieve so much stress in the future for when the economy is going down or you have an unplanned hospital bill, or even get laid off. Then you'll have a cushion to help you through this hard time.

Watch What you are Spending On

Another thing that I myself had to take a hard look at and realize was what was I sinking my money into? What spending habits in my life were making my life harder? For one, I ate out way too much because it's so much easier than cooking. It all boils down to instant gratification. We need to train ourselves to work for everything we want. Not take the easy way. It might look easier from one point of view but if you actually stop to analyze what you're doing then you'll see it's possible that you're setting yourself up for failure.

Another one is what unhealthy hobbies do you have? Such as collecting shoes, watches, or buying clothes you don't need. These things will only give you satisfaction for a very short time. And then you'll want another one to take its place. And it turns into a never-ending cycle. So, one very important thought would be to analyze every purchase we make. Sit on it and look at it logically versus the adrenaline rush that takes over and spends your monthly grocery budget on a flashy watch.

Use Technology

There are great tools out there where you can link all your information and it'll keep track of all your spending and income throughout the year. I use mint. It's a great source and even sets up a budget for you to based off your income and expenses habits and has different categories for each expense and even allows you to make changes where you see fit. It's a great tool to get you on track if you struggle with your expenses like I used to. And it'll even notify you when you're getting close to going over budget.

The connection of doing the little things is that as we go through life, we never know what life is going to throw our way. With this being said it helps knowing that we did all we could with the little things in order to assure that everything we did can make life easier. Life has a way of throwing curveballs your way with car breakdowns, unplanned hospital bills, recessions, and the list goes on. And while we might not be able to stop these if we budget well and don't buy meaningless things we can train our brains to be minimalistic. This can save so much time, stress and money.

Regardless of what you do for your money you work hard to get it. And it can be a blessing. But that all depends on whether or not you are willing to make the sacrifices needed to protect your future. You need to train yourself to look past instant gratification and focus on the long-term game. I've learned that training myself to think logically versus emotionally when it comes to money can save you money, time, and a lot of stress. Now it takes practice and there's never a guarantee, but if you take the steps at least you know you're trying and with practice it'll most likely get better!