When you’re trying to save money or pay down debt, there are some typical stumbling blocks folks encounter time and time again that keep them from being successful in their goal.
After being a lifestyle blogger for several years, I’ve gotten plenty of frustrated emails from folks that have said they’ve tried to budget, tried to save more, or tried to pay down debts but can’t seem to get over the hump and cross the finish line on their financial goals. After awhile, a pattern emerged and I’ve seen folks make the same mistake I’ve made.
Namely, your living expenses are just unreasonably high and folks aren’t realistic that their renting expense is too big for their budget.
Additionally, most of us fail to realize that our habits and the stuff we accumulate has more of a cost that we think it does. The last theme to emerge is that many people don’t really and honestly treat their savings like a bill…that’s a key difference. Your savings or debt repayment goal has to be treated as seriously as your landlord treats your rent payment, otherwise, it’s an afterthought and you’ll never have enough money at the end of the month.
Just like with weight loss, if you don’t work on debt repayment or savings with small, continuous steps, you won’t be successful. If you don’t make room in your life for new, healthy habits, you cannot expect them to take root. If you’re ready to be healthier with your finances, you’ll want to make sure you’re not making any of the mistakes I talk about in the vlog this week!
Love your vlogs! I agree with everything you said. I currently live at home with my father. It’s not ideal, but that $500+ a month I’m saving on rent goes towards my student loans and travel fund. I also dumped my $100 Verizon bill for a $30 Republic Wireless cell phone plan. There are lots of ways to save if you look for it.
Thank you! Agreed that there are plenty of ways to save, you just have to be open to those ways.
Great tips as always, Shannyn! I lived in a not-so-flash rental with a roommate for a couple of years while saving the down payment for my house, and while it was easy to be envious when popping out to visit friends in beautiful apartments, I’m now the very proud owner of my own piece of paradise. Even better, my roommate has moved with me – helping me to pay off my mortgage faster, and save money by splitting our monthly expenses.
That’s awesome, Christy! Definitely a smart way to go about cutting your living expenses.
Very good points that you make about this topic! Thank you for sharing.
You’re welcome, thanks for commenting!
I moved to a cheaper apartment a few months ago and had a total savings of $1000. What’s the point of having a nice apartment if you have a huge pile of debt?!