Making Manageable New Year’s Resolutions - Part One

by Easton Motors

Making Manageable New Year’s Resolutions: A Four-Part Blog

                I am an impulsive person, show me an impulse aisle at checkout and I will add 6 more things to the cart before I check out. I LOVE going out to eat and buying my loved ones little trinkets and cute things I see that make me think of them. People can say cut out the nonessentials until they’re blue in the face but there is only one truth. People’s perception of the world is subjective. Meaning, something that I think is an “essential” may not be something YOU believe is essential. So how do we decide what to cut out and what to keep; because I swear if one more person tells me to stop buying Starbucks because I can’t afford to buy a house I’m going to lose it! For Part two of our four-part blog, I want to talk about, drum roll, please…

SPENDING LESS

Cue the violins! I go through phases in my adult life… sometimes I do great, others not so much. Here are some of the tools I use when I’m on the ball!! First, is my “Daily Budget” App. The icon is orange and there is a coin above a piggy bank. This is my favorite one I’ve used. As with all apps, this one does have in-app purchases, you don’t have to buy anything to use the basic functions though! There is an option for “Regular Income,” “Recurring Expenses,” and “Savings.” You enter in your income and bills and it breaks down what you have to spend every day. If you select “Analysis,” and select the clipboard in the top right corner it gives you totals for your income vs. bills and what you have leftover. It really helps put your spending habits in perspective and can give you an idea of what you can afford to put aside to save.

The next item I use is a monthly bill planner/journal. I was lucky and my sister gifted me a legit budget planner. It has a different page for each month and each page has a pocket for receipts and paper bills. There are two columns and I put the pay dates at the top of each column and I write what the bill is, the due date, how much is it, and finally the date I paid it. I always skip a row so if there is a confirmation number I can write it down. It ends up looking like this:

“Payday” - Amount

 

“Payday” - Amount

Phone

01/13

123.21

Pd 1/10

 

Car

1/23

300.00

Pd 1/20

 

Confirmation Number

 

 

Confirmation Number

 Rent

1/1

 400

PD 12/25

 

 

 

 

 

 

                It always seems like an insurmountable odd to get on the right track, but taking control and monitoring what your income is vs what your bills are is a great first step! Once you’ve achieved that you can begin to track where the rest of it is going. Then you can decide what you are willing to cut out or cut back on and start saving. Well, there you have it! Part two of four in the books. As always remember, call any of our five locations at 608.254.6855 to hear about our AMAZING in-house financing program. You can always stop in and see us as well from 9am to 6pm Monday through Friday and 9am to 5pm on Saturdays. Drive safe and stay warm!

–Lindsey Wade, Baraboo Easton Motors

Easton Motors EZ Credit Used Car Blog

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