Have you ever looked at your tax return and asked yourself, “Where the heck did all of my money go?” Do you still find yourself living week to week? Has it been hard to stick to a budget or put money in savings? You keep saying and hoping that “one day” you can become debt free and to some day get to a point where you don’t ACTUALLY have to worry about money. I KNOW THAT EXACT FEELING.

FOR YEARS, I felt like I just couldn’t get my finances together. This was the only area in life I felt like I truly struggled. I would start trying to figure out a budget, then would soon fall off because I felt I still didn’t make enough money to even try to manage it. I would say, “Forget it! I just want to enjoy life! Life is too short to be restricted!” I would convince myself that one day, “when I made more money, I can do the things I need to do”. Excuse after excuse I would give myself.

What do you tell yourself?

Let’s start with this: What does being financially free mean to you? Think about it for a second. Define financial freedom. What does it look like in your life? What will make you happy and content?

I had to stop and truly define financial freedom. For me, it meant not worrying about money. Not feeling stressed. To be able to pay bills with ease, to be able to pay for needs and the extra fun things that come along with ease. I wanted to be debt free. I wanted to be able to have enough to bless others without hesitating.

When I figured out what that meant to me, I realized that it wasn’t a set amount of money that was going to get me there. It was a feeling. It was an ease of mind. It was a MINDSET.

When I realized financial freedom was based around a state of mind, that’s when it dawned on me: I had control over that. The lightbulb clicked inside. How can I expect any change or ease of mind to happen if I didn’t learn to better manage what I already had. Even people who make hundreds of thousands of dollars more than I do have to set boundaries for themselves. They still have to learn to live below their means. Otherwise, they too would find themselves in debt.

You see, there’s no set amount of money that can give you financial freedom. Your willingness to be a good steward of what you have is what gives you that freedom.

That’s not what you wanted me to say right? Hear me out…

When I stopped giving myself excuses, put my big girl panties on, and set my mind on figuring things out and never giving up, THAT’S when I found breakthrough. In order for me to change my financial situation, I had to SEE it. I had to bring it all to light. The only way to change it is to face it plain as day in front of your face ON PAPER.

I pulled out my bank statement and got to work. I looked at where most of our money went and I cut back ANY WAY I could. When there is a will there is a way. If we spent $50/month on coffee, I was going to buy a travel mug that kept it warm all day and make it myself before I left for work. Problem solved. If we stopped too many times going out to eat during lunch, dang it, I was bringing my own. I looked at how many times I hit the Target dollar aisle, TJ Maxx, Hobby Lobby, etc. Wherever I swiped my card, I was determined to bring it to light and change the habit I had created for myself.

I came up with a budget plan for groceries, for gas, for bills, and even spared some for the fun category. When I saw where my money was going, I was able to adjust where I saw fit. I promised myself to stick to it for one month to see how much we really could save. I literally accounted for EVERY SINGLE DOLLAR that was going in and out of my bank account. I learned to tell my money where to go. Any extra money we made unexpectedly or if I went under budget in one area, I put it away in savings. My mind was set.

That first month we saved….

EIGHTEEN HUNDRED DOLLARS.

After two months, THIRTY FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS!

YALL, our income didn’t change. We just brought our finances to light and stopped giving excuses. We set aside savings every week and now have a set plan to quickly become debt free. Now, I can set aside money to bless others (and it doesn’t take much to do). I truly learned what it meant and felt like to be financially free.

Friends, I URGE you to bring your finances to light. Throw your excuses out the door. Budgeting and managing your finances doesn’t restrict your life, it FREES your life.

Money won’t fulfill your goals, your mindset will.

YOU ARE A WARRIOR IN YOUR FINANCES, SO SET YOUR MIND AND START BECOMING FINANCIALLY FREE!!

Stay tuned for next week’s topic on 8/9 “How To Get Out Of Feeling Stuck”.

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