Source: traceyfieber.com
When I was younger, “I was asking myself why am I in this family?” We were poor and I saw in television that there are differences between the poor and the rich. I used to daydream about having my own car, own house and eating the food that I want. As a young kid, God impressed on my heart that it can be done.
But how? I thought at first it was education – now, I knew it depends on the opportunity that you will be working on. Then, I thought it was hard work – now, I knew that it’s a combination of hard work and smart work. Lastly, and one of the most common is destiny – now, I knew that God gave us free will and whatever we have in our thoughts will become words, words become actions, actions become habits, habits become character and character becomes destiny.
OK. After learning all these, I resolve that it can be done!!! And wullah, I did it! There is just one big problem! I was earning money but I was losing money at the same time! OMG! I haven’t thought about that. I just want to earn, earn, earn. After some time, I realized that I had a leaky bucket!
I reviewed my notes and I forgot about CASHFLOW! BTW, what is CASHFLOW?
Definition of terms: Cashflow - the movement of money into or out of a business, project, or financial product. It is usually measured during a specified, limited period of time. Oh, there! It’s the amount of money that is coming in and going out of my pocket. Just like you, when I was working, my expenses were greater than my salary! Why is that? One, it’s because of lack of prioritization, I just spent, spent and spent my money mindlessly.
Two, I’ve got no plan on where I will put my money. Third, I thought it will continually grow, but as I get old, my salary grows and my expenses grow as well! To check and balance, I begun reviewing the notes of financially successful people. These people are very careful about their cashflow. I took note of some. I noticed that there are a lot of ways to increase your cashflow but I’ll be giving you only three ideas which are based on what I practice. As a start, I know this can help you.
Here are 3 start-up ways to increase your cashflow:
1. Keep Track of Your Expenses. You can keep a daily, weekly or monthly list of expenses. You may start setting a budget on how much you will just spend on a weekly basis. Keep an excel file of all your expenses and check how much remains after you’ve paid everything. Your goal is to have positive cashflow. That positive cashflow can be invested in stocks, mutual funds, insurance, etc. You may also start building your peace of mind fund which can be 3 to 6 months of your monthly expenses. I prefer not to write everything because it makes me crazy. If you can do that, please do. For me, I prefer to have a threshold in my expenses. Don’t worry if you forget it’s okay. It takes time for it to become a habit. Right now, I still do forget. 
Have a tracking system for your expenses.
2. Add a Lifestyle that You are Comfortable Maintaining and Spending. As I’ve said, before my goal was to live the lifestyle of my dreams! However, I realized that as the income increases so is the lifestyle. That’s a great sign that you are achieving financial success and it is best to be vigilant in your expenses. You might be one of those who already earned 10 Million bucks and would say to self, “Oh! What happened to my money?” I bet you don’t want that. You can increase your lifestyle. A lifestyle that is comfortable to you and which you can maintain and a point that you don’t feel deprived. Don’t skyrocket your expenses just because you want to keep up with the Joneses’. Remember, it’s not what you earn, it’s what you do to what you earn. It’s okay to spend but don’t buy stuffs just to impress people around you. If you will buy doodads, make sure that it has a return. Otherwise, you just wasted your money. Of course, this will make you happy for what? Several weeks? Or days? But afterwards, what’s next? You’re not happy again and you will buy again. It is not these things that will make you whole. It’s God and God alone.
It’s okay to spend but don’t buy stuffs just to impress people around you. If you will buy doodads, make sure that it has a return. Otherwise, you just wasted your money. Of course, this will make you happy for what? Several weeks? Or days? But afterwards, what’s next? You’re not happy again and you will buy again. It is not these things that will make you whole. It’s God and God alone.
Work for a lifestyle that you will enjoy.
3. Do Something On The Side (For Employees). If you’re an employee and you want to increase your cashflow, why not do something on the side? In US, people would have two jobs just to maintain their lifestyle. If you are residing in the Philippines, have a business/part-time job/sideline during your free time. And, maintain your lifestyle or make it a little bit more comfortable. It will create a tremendous impact in your finances, just make sure that you still have time for your family. Although, sometimes, you still have to sacrifice your time with them. It’s normal, because you are building a future. If there came a time that what you earn outside matches what you earn in your job, then you may opt to do it full time and make it bigger. To some, it took them years, others took months. It depends on your current state and on the amount of lifestyle that you want to achieve. While you are doing your side business make sure that you still serve your purpose in your job. Be an INTRA-preneur. Work as if you are working for your business. Be the best in your job, your side business and other aspects of your life. Don’t burn bridges! In the future, you will use these connections.
Do a side business that will add cashflow to your finances and something that you enjoy.
Search the internet, talk to people, read books, etc – you will definitely find lots of ways to increase your cashflow. What I taught are just simple ways. These are simple steps to do but if you will follow them after reading this, it will give a tremendous impact in your finances. Sometimes, I do forget doing what I taught you above and we all are working for our progress. The best way is to make it a habit by consciously reminding yourself about your goals. Let’s grow together in our journey to financial literacy. If you learned from this blog post, you just pay it forward. Teach these 3 basic steps to at least 5 of your friends. Then they will teach it to 5 of their friends also. And maybe the reason you got here is because God wants you to start working on your finances. In the beginning it will be hard but in due time this will be a habit for you and the people surrounding you. If you want to know how to change your mindset from scarcity to abundance,
Thank you for reading!
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