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Money is a funny thing. It is what we work for every day and spend every night. It is simple paper, yet incredibly emotional and desirable.
But why does it always seem that no matter how hard we work or how many raises we get, our bank account always seems to drain down to the bottom every month?
Am I the only one who gets depressed every time I get a daily alert that shows my new balance? Why does it always go down so fast?
It’s because your money has a mind of its own and it’s working against you.
1. Money goes where it’s told
You hear, see, and experience over 3,000 advertisements a day from professionals who are money whisperers. They don’t make millions to create cute taglines or pretty pictures. They get paid to get you to buy their products!
Your money will mysteriously be spent on a Coke on your way home from work, a cute dress on clearance, a pistol at Cabela’s, and then a new car with 0% down (they’re practically giving it to you!).
And then you get your daily balance. Your money simply went where marketers told it to go!
Solution: Craft a budget. Budget’s put you in control so that you tell your money where it can and cannot go. Sit down with a piece of paper and at the top, put how much income you expect to have this month. Then list all of your necessary expenses. You can then prioritize how you’d like to spend what is left over. And just like that, you’re in control.
2. Money wants immediate rewards
When you get a raise or a bonus, what’s the first thing you think about? What you can now buy, the lifestyle you can now lead, the car you can now drive?
None of these things are bad, but often times, raises and bonuses bring on more debt. We think that because we can afford a monthly payment from Home Depot, the furniture store, or the car dealership, we “deserve” this new lifestyle as a reward for our hard work, now.
This mentality is what lands people into debt above their ears and potential bankruptcy when their income all of the sudden changes or goes away unexpectedly.
Solution: Wait. Save up that raise or bonus and actually buy something when you have the money. You may even find that the thing you've been saving up for is maybe not as important as you thought when you go to spend real, hard cash!
3. Money always wants to leave
Your budgeted money is passive, it just goes wherever it’s told. But savings and investment moneys are mature. Instead of just leaving a little at a time, they like to go all at once. Your savings and investment moneys are, should I even say it? I must.
They’re in bed with catastrophe.
Solution: Transfer your risk so that your money stays in your savings and investment accounts. Allow a good insurance professional help you plug all of the potential holes that money likes to flow through. Homeowners Insurance, Auto Insurance, and Life Insurance are the three most common personal lines insurance products that everyone should purchase.
When you do these three things, budget, save, and transfer risk, you set yourself up for financial success. You can retake control of your financial life so that when you get your daily balance, you already know exactly what’s there.
And it’s not going anywhere unless you tell it to.
Written by Zach Santmier
Co-Owner @ Trumble Insurance Agency
Zach is the Co-Owner and manager at Trumble and focuses on positioning Trumble as the best choice for home and auto insurance. Zach is the author of Quarterback The Sale: Lead the Play from Snap to Touchdown. His book focuses on the importance of providing a high level of leadership in the sales process so that clients are left surprised and delighted by the ease of doing business with a true sales quarterback.
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