Take Your Money Out On A Date Night! How To Organise Your Money

 

 

 

Yes Really! Take Your Money Out On A REGULAR Date Night.

This sounds like a bit of a strange concept, but it’s true. You have to take your money out on a date at regular intervals, otherwise your money will lose interest and cheat on you (with someone else who appreciates it more).

If this sounds like I’m describing an episode of Jeremy Kyle, then you’re right. Its EXACTLY the same.

Our money is fickle. 

If you don’t wine and dine your money and treat it with the love and attention it deserves, then it will leave. People who regularly take care of their money are the ones who usually keep hold of it.

I used to be really dismissive of money, and as such, I am now making some serious moves to win it back into my life – we’re in therapy together shall we say.

So how exactly do you take you money out on a date?

Don’t worry – you don’t have to sit in a fancy restaurant with your purse and order it a steak dinner. Instead, you need to make space for money in your diary and allow NO INTERRUPTIONS during this time. This is a moment for you and money to patch things up and make amends. The more you do it, the better your relationship will be (and the quicker it gets).

It helps to get into a routine to organise your money. If the start of January motivates you, set this as your yearly date and work around it, but don’t let the fact that it isn’t January stop you from taking action.

Top Tip – keep all your documents in one place. Even if it is just a shoe-box. You’ll thank yourself for it!

Here is my suggested schedule to organise your money

This is how you organise your money.

Once a week (perhaps on a Sunday):

  • Keep track of all your outgoings for the past week (however you do this) – for budget keeping ideas, check out this post
  • Work out how much money you have remaining for the rest of the month to keep it fresh in your head
  • Look for any unexpected purchases or money taken out as cash and aim to reduce these spends, or add them to next month’s budget if it is a regular occurrence. Reflection is a good practice to start.
  • If you’re paid weekly, plan your spending ahead a week at a time to keep on track
  • Use an app like Shoppix to get paid for the receipts you have collected throughout the week

These are some things to do once a month (before pay day if you’re paid monthly):

  • Make a plan for where the money will be spent for the month coming up. Do you need to adjust anything from the month before? Where did you OVERSPEND and can you make any savings for this month?
  • How can you boost your savings or investments this month? Have you got any extra money coming through (like a birthday or a bonus) that you will put towards them rather than spend it?
  • How are you going to spend your “fun money” this month? Schedule in something now!

Some things to do every 3 months (put it in your diary!):

  • Work out what you need to save for in the next three months. Is there a birthday or significant event you need a small amount of cash for that is manageable in 3 months? Start a saving plan now!
  • Record your net worth and credit score – you can use companies like noddle to do this
  • Remind yourself why you’re doing all this and congratulate yourself on doing what it takes! Trust me, there are very few like you!

Do these every 6 months to organise your money:

  • Work out what you need to save for in the next 6 months. This is a larger amount of money that you need more time for e.g. Christmas or a holiday.
  • What debt have you paid off? Are you rolling it into paying more towards the next biggest one?
  • Check in on your emergency fund and f***-off fund – do they need topping up, or are they growing nicely?
  • Review any credit cards you have – if they are 0%, when does this run out? Start planning when you will get a new one to transfer the balance to.

Do these once a year (include this month as the start of a new year – if it helps, change it to January once you’re up and running)

This is a big date, but if you have been tracking all the way through the year, it shouldn’t be too difficult to update everything:

  • For the stock market investors – review any investments you hold and re balance them as needed. Can you increase your contributions?
  • How is/are your pension/s doing? Have a statement sent to you so you can find out. If you have lots of them, is it time to combine? Don’t forget to update your net worth!
  • Review all your household bills including insurances – can they be switched and reduced? Do they provide enough cover or too much?
  • Review your mobile phone contract – when does it expire? Is there a cheaper one you can switch to? Call up the company and ask.
  • Is there anything you spend money on that you don’t use? Magazine subscriptions/gym memberships etc? Get them stopped and celebrate the saving you make!
  • Reflect on how much you earned/spent/saved/invested over the whole year. Did you spend less than you earned? What % of your income did you save and invest? Celebrate!
  • What are all your assets currently worth? If you own property – what is it currently worth for example? No need to pay for it, simply look up the sold comparisons on Zoopla or Rightmove and update your net worth balance.
  • Declutter everything from your house, to your car, to your email inbox. Sell/Give/Chuck – up to you!
  • Do you need to review your will or any other legal documents?
  • Celebrate your achievements by ticking something off your bucket list (as long as you don’t go into debt doing it!!)
  • Plan for the year ahead – what do you need to save for? How much debt are you going to pay off? What do you want your net worth to look like this time next year?
  • Have some fun and create a new vision board to keep you going!

Final Thoughts

There are many things you could do, but this is what I do, and I try to keep it simple. You do need to put the effort in though, otherwise you’ll slide right back into old habits. Don’t worry about being perfect. As long as you are roughly heading in the right direction, then you will be absolutely fine!

If you’d like even more help to organise your money, why not check out my Healthy Money Planner™. It’s an all in one system to keep you in control and on track to meet your money goals.

Good luck. I can’t wait to hear how you get on. Comment below on come on over to my FREE AND PRIVATE FACEBOOK GROUP!

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