How to be Financially Prepared by Doing 9 Things Every Month

How to be Financially Prepared by Doing 9 Things Every Month

Wouldn’t it be nice if you had a checklist of what you need to do every month to keep your finances in order?

Abracadabra I have one just for you!

Because it’d be nice to know exactly what to do every month (and, have a reminder). Snag the checklist below!

Instantly download the checklist so you can have your most prepared month.

This post is all about how you can gain financial stability by doing 9 things every month. I do have to warn

you, it is going to take minimal effort. And you’ll be quite prepared for the month ahead.

If you’re ready to be financially prepared and stable for the next month then let’s get started!

LET’S DO THIS:

1. The first thing you want to do is to make a spending plan. I purposefully didn’t call it a budget because people freak out when they hear the word budget and go into panic mode. It’s seriously so simple, even your grandma can do it. She is probably doing it right now! (P.S. If you need help starting your spending plan check out this post on how to start your Personal Budget from Scratch.)

2. Plan out and automate your bills. I know that some people aren’t able to automate their bills, but that’s okay! All I want you to do is get a calendar and put in the bills you need to pay according to their dates.

Do you know how stressful it is to get to the end of the month and try to pay everything at once? You’re taking on stress overload right there and it’s completely unnecessary! Set yourself up for success and know exactly what days your bills are due.

3. Plan your goals for the month. Whatever kind of goals you’ve got. But, I want you to include these specific ones ….

Goals:

A. How much you plan on saving

B. How much debt you plan to pay off

C. Something you and your family are working on related to your finances.

D. One personal goal that you have for yourself. If you’re not consistently trying to improve yourself then what are you doing with your life?

The type of goals that I typically have about our finances are things such as not spending so much in a category, finding different ways to save on stuff we’re buying, and even researching things about our finances that we may need help with. For instance, one of my goals recently has been to reread Dave Ramsey’s book, The Total Money Makeover (affiliate), and start implementing his strategies to build our wealth now. (I may be just a little obsessed with him)

Side note: The Total Money Makeover is the book that completely changed the way I see money and handle my finances. I think it’s amazing and is definitely one to read when you’re feeling down about your money problems.

Okay, back to it! Personal goals that you can have are things like getting up earlier (this is literally my goal monthly, I am not a morning person!) Eating healthier, exercising, improving your relationship with your spouse, kids or family. Just something that will improve your self and your life so you can have a happier and successful life!

Write these goals down so you can be held accountable. Tell your grandma about your goals so she can call you every day to see if you’re sticking to it. I’m serious.

4. Plan the month out with your family. What do you guys have going on for the month? School activities, work meetings et cetera … This is simply so you will have a cohesive family that will all work together. If all of you are scatter brained and have no idea what’s going on in each others lives then you’ll just be stressed and unhappy. Life is meant to have joy so stop setting yourself up for failure by not communicating your plans! Oh, and keep a planner. Seriously, it will change your life.

5. Check car maintenance. My husband changes the oil in our car, rotates the tires and does all the maintenance. To keep track of when to do it he just puts a note in his phone and marks the date of the last time he did all the maintenance on the car. Keep track of it. We’re trying to save money here people … You’re not going to save any money by not taking care of your stuff and having to buy a new car because you forget to change the oil. If you remember check what your mileage is and how much more to go before you need an oil change once every month, you won’t have to cry your eyes out when you’re stuck on the side of the road because you forgot to do maintenance.

6. Check your bank statements. See if there’s anything that looks suspicious, or any purchases that you didn’t make. You just might catch something that you wouldn’t have noticed originally.

7. Check your credit score. This is another place that people stick their head in the sand. There’s a lot of places where you can check your credit score online, you don’t need a physical copy of it every month. They do make mistakes and you don’t want to find out that there’s a mistake on your credit report until it’s too late.

8. Evaluate your 401K and retirement. Be aware of where you’re at financially. Stop depending on social security to save you, because they’re not. Unless you can live on 1,500 a month then you better start saving. I seriously can not stress this enough!

9. Make a meal plan with your family. Before you start rolling your eyes at me just hear me out. You do not need to make a meal plan for the whole month. You are just setting yourself up for failure, because the only people that can plan out their meals for a whole month are supernatural. I do mine for every two weeks. You know you should save money, but you get so tempted to eat out and end up spending twice as much because you just didn’t know what to make for dinner. It happens ALL. THE. TIME. Along with making a meal plan, go ahead and make your grocery list (yes, of course I have a free meal plan and grocery list template on my freebies page. Who would I be if I didn’t give you a freebie every chance I get?!)

If you’re going to the store every single day to get stuff for meals that night, you’ll end up spending three times as much on stuff you didn’t need. Plan out your meals, then figure out what groceries you need and only buy what’s necessary. Make sure you’re checking your rebate apps to see what groceries you can get cash back on. (If you don’t know what rebate apps I use then click over HERE to find out so you can get a little extra cash back every month.)

Bonus Tip:

Just because I like ya, I’m going to give you a little bonus tip. Stay positive. Don’t be too hard on yourself, you’re trying the best that you can! I know those 9 tips may seem like a lot, but just taking a half an hour the first of every month and making your game plan by using the Monthly Money Checklist, you’ll be set up so you can have financial stability and success.

Be sure to grab the Monthly Checklist before you go:

Have faith in yourself and know that you can accomplish financial stability. It may take a little bit of time, but following these simple steps will get you there faster than you thought possible.

Good luck and happy saving

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