Photo courtesy Punkjr
On Monday I talked about the top 3 ways to prevent a financial setback. They were to get on a budget, reduce your debt and establish an emergency fund.
On Monday and Tuesday the subject of a series of classes I’m teaching was about ways to reduce your spending. After presenting about 100 different ways to reduce your spending, I ended the session with the three most important ways to cut your spending. They were to get on a budget, reduce your debt and establish an emergency fund.
I’ve also talked about how to begin saving more money for the future. Guess what? It’s to get on a budget, reduce your debt and establish and emergency fund. Are you beginning to see a pattern here?
I really wish there were some quick and easy magic formula that could help you suddenly become prosperous. The reality is it’s going to take a lot of work on your part. You need to get yourself on a budget so you know where every penny of your money is going and you have a plan for it. You need to eliminate debt so that you stop paying interest and start earning it. You need to establish an emergency fund so that you don’t rob your savings or drive yourself further into debt when emergencies arise, because they will. I guarantee it.
This is the foundation. There are many other tips and tricks and ideas to help you on the road to prosperity, but until you get these things in place, there’s really no use talking about the others. Do you agree or disagree?