BE FEARLESS
Assessing your expenses
L-
es in 2019. As promised, I took a good hard look at what I was
spending and tracked what went out. What I found shocked
me a little, but also encouraged me. Prior to assessing my expenses,
I knew I wanted to save this year, but with my current
savings. I already know that I want to increase my income
this year, but I want to start saving now. Where was I going
to get the money? Tracking my expenses showed me that I
was paying for some old subscriptions that I never use (Hello,
Gaia, 2, count them, TWO amazon accounts, and several domain
names and even a website from businesses that I no longer
own). Canceling all of that saved
me about $100 per month!
Here is where it gets embarrassing
for this former chef. We spend approximately
$350 on groceries for a family
-
ing out. I knew we needed to streamline
our dining situation, but I had no
idea of how we were just throwing
our money away to the three places
that deliver in our area. The kicker
is that we don’t even enjoy the take
out anymore. We have worn out our
love for the limited menus, but parental
exhaustion rules and we order it just to be done. We take
the time that we would be cooking and help the littles with
homework, bath time, quality time, and bed time. We literally
have lost our love for dinner time and it is costing us a small
fortune. Dinner had become an expensive chore.
Now that I have assessed my spending, I can clearly see
where I can cut back. It will take discipline to take the money
that I am saving on eating in and put it into savings, but I
am incredibly motivated. There are a few apps that can help
39104 3rd Avenue, Zephyrhills, FL 33542-52064
subscriptions you are paying for, but have forgotten and then
gives you a direct link to cancel, if you desire. You add your
accounts and the app takes a look at your spending and gives
you an idea of where your money is going. It also gives you
options to create goals and separate the money you need for
that goal.
The Mint, Intuit app has the highest reviews of all the
apps that I researched. Like many others, you load your account
info and the app gives you a complete look at your
-
mendations based on your goals. This makes it easy to attain
success because it can move your money directly into
For instance, you set up accounts on
the app for a car loan, travel savings,
etc. and set the app to pay into these
automatically.
Spendee is an app for people that
goals. Most of the apps are geared to
one user, but Spendee was created for
couples and families. You can create
a shared wallet and everyone has access
to the app thru their own personal
smart phone or tablet.
There are many apps that you can utilize that will help
you clean up your spending. I just tracked my expenses the
old fashioned way, keeping receipts and monitoring my bank
account, so don’t feel like you have to rely on technology to
get control. Next month I will talk about how to utilize the
money that I freed up and how to plan for life after the rat
race. I never thought I would be in a position to retire, but I
have learned how to make up for my lack of savings.
It is possible, so go out there and Be Fearless, and we will
get through this together.
r e i n f o r c e y o u r l i f e w i t h s y m m e t r y
Let me help you
find the best life
insurance policy
that fits your
individual needs
• Mortgage Protection
• Final Expense
• Retirement Protection
Jen Wead
813.377.6600
jen.wead@gmail.com
Lic. #W500251
30 • FEB/MAR 2019 813.682.9364 FLORIDA WOMEN MAGAZINE
link