Are you ready to master your money mindset and take back control of your finances?

Let's face it, no one likes being in debt. However, it is a reality for many. Student loans, mortgages, and credit cards all serve to set you back financially.

If you want to get out of debt, you have to change your money mindset. Your success is determined, in large part, by your ability to effectively manage your money.

The key to getting ahead financially is getting started. If you're ready to change your financial situation, keep reading!

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Financial stress can impact your mental health.

According to Forbes, individuals with high financial stress are twice as likely to report poor health overall and are four times more likely to complain of ailments. Despite this reality, people still fall into the trap of overspending on things that they don't need.

In short, they have bad spending habits. As a result, they end up falling into debt. It can be very challenging to get out of debt due to high-interest payments, which is why you want to avoid debt at all costs.

Credit cards and other unsecured loan debt tend to have interest rates higher. The average personal loan interest rate is 9.63%, while the average credit card has a 14.52% interest rate.

Money management has been the key to my success in life. However, I didn't always have good money habits. When I was in my early 20s, I was in a lot of debt. In fact, I racked up $15,000 in credit card debt.

I was living above my means and I had no idea where my money was going every month. It wasn't until I got real with myself and stopped avoiding the reality of my situation that I was able to take back control of my finances.

You can't be blind to your finances. Rather, you have to be hyperaware of your income and expenses. Track everything that you spend. Create a monthly budget and start reducing or eliminating any expenses that may cause you to overspend.

It's not the amount of money that you budget that matters.

Rather, it's the habit of budgeting that makes all the difference. There is no point in making more money if you cannot manage the money that you already have. By building the habit of money management now, you will be able to manage higher amounts of money in your future.

When it comes to budgeting, you can expect to have to make some sacrifices. I had to give up a lot of things that brought enjoyment to my life to get out of debt. I'm not going to say that it was easy, but the payoff was well worth it. I swapped short-term gratification for long-term wealth.

When I started my online business my first goal was to make $1 online. John Hayes was the first Internet marketer to make $1 million online in one day. He believed if you can make $1 online, you are 95% away from making $100,000 online.

The moment that you make $1, you get instant validation that whatever you're doing is working. This is what gives you the confidence to keep going and find ways to scale up. This is exactly what I did in my online business.

I've gone from being broke to becoming a multi-millionaire. 

Another great way to get ahead financially is to invest in yourself. You never lose by investing in your future self. In the words of Warren Buffett, “The more you learn, the more you will earn.” Attend seminars and events, read books, or find a mentor.

When you invest in your personal growth and development you learn skills that increase your value and potential to make more money. Over the years I have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into myself. As a result, I've been able to build a 7-figure business doing what I love.

This is the money mindset of a millionaire.

No matter how bad your financial situation is right now, you have the power to take back control of your finances. When you change the relationship that you have with money, you start attracting more wealth into your life.

Financial success doesn't happen overnight. However, if you're committed to reaching your financial goals, there is no limit to what you can achieve. Are you ready to master your money mindset and build long-term wealth?

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Have you been trying to figure out how to budget your money, but keep coming up short?

If so, you aren't alone. According to the latest 2018 data from the Federal Reserve, Americans hold over $1 trillion in credit card debt.

Learning how to effectively manage your finances is one of the most important steps you can take to secure a positive future for yourself.

It's time to start worrying about money and start taking control of your finances. Are you ready to learn the money management system that will allow you to do so?

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Do you know how to budget your money?

Let's face it, saving money can be challenging. The problem lies in the mindset that people have towards budgeting. Brad Klontz, a psychologist and certified financial planner, says that “Your emotional brain responds to the word budget the same way it responds to the word diet. The connotation is deprivation, suffering, agony, depression.” There is a way out of this. It starts with the self-awareness that you have a money management issue.

If you struggle to effectively manage your money, you need to realize that this is a bad habit. The good news is that, like any bad habit, you can change it. However, if you don't perceive that your behavior is a problem, to begin with, you will stay stuck in a financial hole. This is why I believe that accepting responsibility for your current financial situation is the first step towards making a change.

Secondly, you need to know where you are spending your money. If you don't, you will only end up living paycheck to paycheck. How do you expect to ever get ahead in life if you live this way? Planning for the long-term is the name of the game.

The problem is that a lot of people live for instant gratification. They cannot resist the urge to spend their money.  Can you relate? If you spend money faster than you earn it, it's imperative that you master the art of delayed gratification. Research shows that people who learn how to manage their need to be satisfied and thrive more in their careers, relationships, health, and finances than people who give into it.

This is why it's so important to learn how to manage your money and spending.

When you have a budget in place, you don't overspend. I am going to share with you a money management method that will allow you to successfully allocate your money and finances. More importantly, it will allow you to achieve your financial goals over the long-term while enjoying your life at the same time.

It starts with calculating and tracking your monthly income and expenses. You have to know where your money is coming in from, how much is coming in, and how much money is going out. Don't be blind to your finances. A lot of people avoid this conversation altogether because they don't want to be faced with the reality of how much debt they are in. I used to have a lot of credit card debt. It caused so pain and suffering in my life. When you confront your debt, you actually feel empowered. Now you have a debt-free target to strive towards.

I'm a big fan of using credit cards instead of cash. This is a great way to build up your credit rating. Furthermore, it will be beneficial for you in the future, if you want to get a mortgage or a loan for a car. A credit card allows you to track your expenses more effectively. Lastly, credit cards allow you to get points, cashback and/or air miles.

However, you have to make sure that you don't get into credit card debt.

This kind of debt is really hard to dig yourself out of. If you do have credit card debt, I suggest that you find another credit card that will let you do a balance transfer. This will allow you to pay off your credit card more easily. Some credit cards offer people a zero percent interest rate for the first 18 months.

When it comes to determining what your monthly expenses are, you need to go through your bank and/or credit card statements. Write that number down and track it. I encourage you to create a Google or an Excel spreadsheet online that will allow you to update this information on a weekly and monthly basis.

Here is an example of what your spreadsheet may look like:

• Mortgage payment – $1000 per month
• Car payment – $300 per month
• Gas – $100 per month 
• Utilities – $ 50 per month
• Entertainment – $200 per month

Once you know what your monthly expenses are, you want to add them all up. Depending on what the total number is, you will then know how much extra spending money you have. Always make sure that you have a positive cash flow. For example, if you are making $3600 but are spending the same amount, or even more, that's a problem. Now you're getting into debt.

You have two options when this happens. The first option is to make more money per month. Simultaneously, you've also got to decrease your monthly expenses. This may require that you make some sacrifices. Don't be afraid to do so! I had to make a lot of sacrifices in the beginning stages of growing my business.

There was a time in my life when I had to live on my friend's couch for a year and sell my car.

It was the only way that I was able to get myself out of debt. A part of getting what you want is knowing what you have to give up. By sacrificing, it may seem like you are giving something up. However, you are actually gaining something much greater. You will be surprised how much money you can save by making small tweaks. Now you need to determine what the budget is that you are going to stick to. What is the hard cap that you will limit yourself to?

If you have a positive cash flow every month, the question is, “What do you do with that money?” There is a simple method for doing so that I learned from T. Harv Eker. In his book, Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth, he talks about the jar system, which is a way for you to budget and allocate your finances.

He suggests that you break down the money that you make and your expenses into six jars.

First Jar – Necessities (55%)

You want 55% of your expenses to go towards necessities. These are things like rent, car payments, insurance, phone bill, Internet, or groceries. A lot of people go into debt every month because they are too busy paying off their necessities. As a result, they are never able to get ahead and become financially free.

Second Jar – Long-Term Savings (10%)

You want to build up this reserve of money until it's at about 6 months worth of your income. This is your emergency fund money. You never know what could happen in life, whether that be a natural disaster, an injury, or a recession in the economy. You need to be prepared in advance for anything and everything.

Third Jar – Financial Freedom Account (10%)

This is money that you can use for investing in your future. The more money that you can invest here, the farther you will go. A lot of people aren't able to take advantage of opportunities when they arise, because they failed to think long-term.

Forth Jar – Education (10%)

I encourage you to constantly strive to improve yourself. You are the most valuable resource. The level at which you invest in yourself will determine how much money you make in life. Develop your skills, take courses and training programs, and find mentors or coaches that can help take your life to the next level.

If you don't believe me, take it from Warren Buffett, who is one of the most successful investors in the world. In his words, “The best investment that you can make is an investment in yourself. The more you learn, the more you will earn.”

Fifth Jar – Fun (10%)

Don't forget to enjoy the money that you make. If you are just working and making money, but you aren't rewarding yourself, your motivation will dwindle. Buy nice clothes for yourself, enjoy a massage, or go out for a nice dinner. However, don't overspend if you don't have the finances for it.

Sixth Jar – Contribution (5%)

Contributing to others is a critical piece to building financial abundance. It conditions your mind to trust that there is always more than enough. If you are constantly making decisions from a place of lack, it is impossible to attract money into your life. Don't be attached to money. Rather, adopt an abundance mindset.

When it comes to budgeting, it is not the amount that matters. Rather it's the habit.

If you can't manage the money that you currently have, you will only get yourself into trouble down the road. By building healthy money habits now, I promise that you will be able to manage larger amounts of money in the future.

Are you ready to get out of debt and put your budget to work?

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I would like to share with you some money management tips for getting out of debt. Debt is no fun, and the emotional burden that it can create in peoples’ lives can be overwhelming. Henrik Ibsen said it best, “Home life ceases to be free and beautiful as soon as it is founded on borrowing and debt.”

Have you ever wondered why so many people have outrageous debt? A large reason is due to the lack of having a well-disciplined budget and financial life.

Managing your money doesn’t have to be difficult. It’s about knowing how you are using your money. How would your life change if you were free of debt? Make a decision to get rid of it, once and for all.

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Below are 5 money management tips for getting out of debt:

1. Be Aware of And Accept Your Debt

One of the most difficult things to do when first getting on the debt pay-off journey, is to truly accept your debt. Oftentimes, the reality of debt is too painful to acknowledge or accept, so the natural response is to avoid that it exists. I speak from personal experience.

When I was in my early 20’s, I was in a lot of debt. I had to make sacrifices in order to manage my money more efficiently and become debt-free. It was the acceptance of my reality that allowed me to make a change in my life. If you are serious about becoming debt-free, you need to acknowledge its existence. Be proactive. Don’t live in fear. Instead, take action. 

2. Decide To Change your Spending Habits

Making a decision implies that you are about to take action. When you make the decision to change your spending habits, you are halfway there to financial freedom! Saving money is about changing spending habits. What are your spending habits?

In order to become debt-free, you need to address the actual money management habits that you are struggling with, that led to the debt in the first place. Ramona Pearson, a certified public accountant and personal financial advisor said that “Money habits are formulated at a very young age for most people.” Take the time to figure out why you're spending habits are the way they are.

Sure enough, this is the reason why a lot of people that win the lottery end up losing it all. They don't take the time to develop the discipline in order to manage their money properly.

Focus on cutting your expenses or your overhead in some way. This will allow you to have some extra cash flow every month. Then, you can use that cash flow to start paying off your debt.

3. Track Your Expenses

If you want to free yourself from debt, you need to start tracking your expenses. The best way to work out what you spend your money on and how much you have left at the end of every month, is to keep a record of all your expenses.

According to Pick The Brain, for two weeks you should write everything down that you spend. Record the time, the place, and how much it costs. Doing so will help you identify your spending patterns.

If you haven’t done something like this before, there is a good chance that you will shock yourself. How often do you track your money? If the answer is never, it’s time to get out a calculator and start doing the math!

4. Don’t Spend What You Earn

Once you start making money, don’t be tempted to spend MORE money. This is where people get themselves into trouble. You have to discipline yourself to NOT engage in this behaviour.

In his book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!, Robert Kiyosaki said, “Invest in assets, not liabilities.” An asset is something that puts money into your pocket, while a liability is something that takes money out of your pocket. Which category does everything in your life fall into?

If you can’t manage the money that you currently have, then there is no point making more money. If you adopt the mindset that making MORE money will be the answer to your debt issues, you are wrong. This is a recipe for disaster.

5. Reward Yourself

Adjusting to a new style of living involves sacrifice. Breaking bad habits, especially when it comes to spending money, is hard work. This is why it’s important that you reward yourself when you have practiced self-discipline.

Be kind to yourself and engage in mini-celebrations, now and then. Why? Because the MORE that you acknowledge and reward yourself for your successes, the more success you will have.

Charles Duhigg, New York Times reporter and author of The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, said “First, you have to pick a cue, like every single time that you get a pay check, you’ll move 5% of it into savings.” The key to making your habit stick is to give yourself a reward every time that you engage in a positive behaviour.

Debt is debt, but don’t feel that you have to punish yourself because of it. Honour the small achievements that you make every day, on your journey towards financial freedom. How you choose to manage and spend your money can have a profound impact on your life. I encourage you to follow these money management tips for getting out of debt.

Your ability to make good money decisions will end up shaping the direction that your life will take. Are you ready to be free of debt? Take control of your financial future now!

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Are you looking for ways to stop letting money control your life?

I would like to provide you with some money management tips on how to budget and save money. Saving is very important. You have to make sure that you are putting money aside every month.

The problem is that most people do not budget or save money. In fact, most people live paycheque to paycheque.

Whatever money they earn goes directly to paying off their monthly expenses. Therefore, there is no positive cash flow that they can then use and put aside.

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If you are living paycheque to paycheque, then you are stuck in the rat race, and you are never going to be able to get ahead. Before you can even think about investing money, you need to make sure that you manage your money and set up a budget. A budget is a way of sacrificing something in your life.  When I was younger, I remember that I never wanted to make a sacrifice.

I wanted to make money and spend money, but I soon realized that living that way was at a cost to my future. You cant live for today, rather, you need to think ahead and prepare for the future. Ask yourself, “How much is my budget going to be/month?”

Make a list of all your existing expenses – credit cards, online banking, receipts, debit cards, etc. You need to go back several months in order to identify your patterns of spending.  Go through every transaction that you have and add it all up. It’s even better if you can categorize your spending. You can track this by using Microsoft Excel, a Google spreadsheet, etc.

Examples of categories could be rent/mortgage, cell phone, internet, gym membership, groceries, eating out, entertainment, car payments, gas, transportation, school fees, etc. When you look at the total number of what you are spending every month, it will be an eye opener for you, and you will realize how you are living.

Make sure that you are tracking this on a weekly basis, especially at the beginning. In addition, you need to track and add up how much you are making from your job, business, investments, passive income streams, etc. From this list, you will know what your expenses are and what your income is.

You always need to make sure that your income is higher than what your expenses are, and that you have a ‘positive cash flow’, which will allow you to save money, invest, build a business, etc. If you find that your expenses are too high then you need to set up a budget.

Ask yourself, “How much do I want to save every month?”  From there, look for ways of how you can cut down on your spending. I also highly recommend that you use a debit/visa card for all of your transactions. Doing so allows you to see where your money is going every month, and it helps you build up your credit score.

If you budget and track your spending every week, and you are ensuring that you have a positive cash flow, you will have a better sense of control of your life. It’s important to do this as early as possible. If you can’t manage a certain amount of money/month, you will be in trouble when you start making a lot of money.

Once you have a foundation and have developed strong money management skills, this will help you succeed in the future. Harv Eker said it best – “It comes down to this: Either you control money, or it controls you. To control money, you must manage it”.

Its time to master your money so that you can move forward with your life goals and experience financial freedom! The choice is yours. Are you ready?

Video transcript

Hey everyone, Stefan here from projectlifemastery.com, and in this video I'm going to talk to you a little bit about how to budget money and how to save money. Saving money is very important. You've got to make sure that you're putting money aside every single month, but the problem is that most people don't budget their money and manage their money in the first place. In fact most people they're living paycheck to paycheck where their expenses are a certain amount of money and whatever money that they're earning is going directly towards paying off those expenses.

Therefore they don't have any positive cash flow that they can then use to save and put aside. If you are living that way if you're living month to month, paycheck to paycheck and you're not saving any money, then you're stuck in what is called the rat race. The rat race basically means that you're never going to be able to get ahead because you're just repeating the same cycle. You're not taking money that you can save, that you can invest, and help users to build your financial future, to build a business, to make passive income etc.

Really the most important thing that you've got to understand before you're even in a position where you can invest money and all that sort of stuff, is you've got to make sure that you manage your money and you set up a budget. A budget is basically where you say that you're not going to spend more than X amount of money. You've got to decide what that is, what is realistic for you but a budget is a way of essentially sacrificing in some way in your life, which is a very important thing to understand. For me, I remember in my life I never wanted to make a sacrifice.

I just wanted to make money and spend that money, but then I realized by living my life that way it was at the cost of my future and that by living my life that way as time were to go by that I was taking away from my future life that I was going to have one day. When I had kids one day or a marriage or a family or whatever it is that I was going to struggle at that point in my life. You've got to think ahead for your future. You can't just live for and think about today, you've got to think ahead and prepare for the future and that means sacrificing some instant gratification. 

Make a list of all your existing current expenses

You've got to delay gratification and make a sacrifice. Budgeting you've got to decide how much is your budget going to be. That you're not going to exceed what that is. What I recommend you do before that is make a list of all your existing current expenses. Go through your credit cards or debit cards or online banking, your statements, go through your receipts, whatever you've got to go through, and go through every single transaction that you have and add it all up. Because the first place to start is you've got to know exactly where you're at.

You've got to know exactly where your monthly expenses are and how much it is that you're spending on a month to month basis. I do recommend you go back several months because you've got to see what the pattern is. It's even better if you can categorize it into different categories. A great way of doing this, you can use the software, you can use Microsoft Excel, you can use a Google spreadsheet, you can use Numbers if you're on a Mac, but actually set up a spreadsheet or track it whatever the way that you want and add it up.

Get out your calculator and add up exactly how much you spent on a month to month basis on your rent or on your mortgage. Whatever that number is, write it down, put it under a column or a category. That's exactly what your monthly rent or mortgage is. Another category is going to be putting in exactly what you spend every single month on your cell phone bill. Put exactly what that is. Again, go back several months to know exactly what that is. There might be some months you might have spent more than what your bill traditionally is but you’ve got to know exactly what that is.

You're going to look at your Internet bill, your gym membership. You're going to look at how much money you're spending on a monthly basis buying groceries, eating out, entertainment such as going to movies or playing video games or whatever that is. Again, these are all different categories. You've got to look through all your transactions or statements and add exactly what that is to know exactly where you're at. Your car payments, gas, your bus pass, transportation, taking a taxi, whatever that is, break it up into categories.

Maybe another category could be investing in yourself like books and courses, whatever. Know exactly what you're investing in every month there. It could be a coach, it could be a mentor, it could be your school tuition payments or your student loan. Whatever it is guys you've got to have a spreadsheet or something that's tracking everything. That way you can add everything up. You know exactly what you spent every single month for the last several months.

When you look at that number it's going to be an eye-opener for you. You're going to actually realize the reality of how you're living. Then what you're also going to do is going to add up and track exactly how much you're making every month as well. That's exactly what you make from your job, maybe from your business, maybe from other income streams that you might have such as investments, such as … I don't know things that you might be doing on the side, but you've got to make sure you track all of that as well and you've got to know exactly what that is.

Make sure that your income is higher than  your expenses

Basically, by doing this exercise you're going to have a list and you're going to know exactly what your expenses are and then you're also going to know exactly what your income is. You're always going to make sure that your income is higher than what your expenses are and you have what is called positive cash flow. Positive cash flow. Very important, that's what's going to allow you to save money every month. That's what's going to allow you to invest, to build a business, to do whatever it is that you want to do, and have those savings for whatever it is you want to invest in.

If you find yourself your expenses are too high, then you've got to set up the budget. You've got to decide again how much do I want to save every month? Is it one hundred bucks a month, is it a thousand bucks a month and then look at ways that you can cut down and lower your expenses. That's creating a budget. You might decide, my budget is that I'm not going to spend more than two hundred dollars a month eating out. You've got to enforce that, that's what the budget is. I'm not going to spend more than two hundred dollars a month on clothing. That's the budget.

I'm not going to spend more than X amount of money on transportation or on alcohol or whatever it might be that you're spending money on. In some cases, you might decide I've got to find a cheaper cell phone plan. I've got to sell my cell phone and get a cheaper phone. I need to get rid of my car and get a bus pass instead. Again, these are sacrifices that you might have to make so that you can save money and set yourself up for your future. Set that budget and then the other key piece is guys, you've got to make sure that you are tracking this on a weekly basis especially the start.

On a weekly basis. This means that every single week, you're going to want to go through your credit card statement, your bank statements, everything and add everything up and put them in the categories that you have set up in your spreadsheet. I recommend doing this weekly because it'll be faster if you do it weekly. If you leave it every month they'll be a lot more transactions and you're going to procrastinate you're not going to do it. Weekly helps you understand where you are at with your budget and it will help you realize hey you know what?

Use a credit card or a debit card for all your transactions

I spent a little bit too much just last week, I'm coming up close to my budget so I need to cut back a little bit. Do it every week, very important. Then the other piece is I highly recommend that you use a credit card or a debit card for all your transactions because if you're spending cash on things, it's very hard for you to track that whereas if you're buying everything on your credit card, then you're going to be able to see everything. You're going to see where your money is going and be able to go through all those transactions.

Using a credit card is beneficial because it's helping you build up your credit score which is very important especially at a young age to build your credit. If you have a problem with overspending with credit cards, then I would recommend setting a limit on the credit card. You can call your credit card company and say, “I want to have a limit of a thousand dollars, of two thousand dollars,” or whatever that limit is to ensure that you don't overspend that, but if you're doing that every week you're tracking things, you're going through your statements, you know exactly where you're at.

You have that awareness and you're ensuring that you have a positive cash flow then that's going to give you the ability to save money and you're going to have a better sense of control and confidence over your life of managing your money. It's very important that you do this as early as possible because if you can't manage what you currently have, then there's no point going out there to try to make more money because if you can't manage two thousand dollars a month, five thousand dollars a month if you make ten thousand or more if you make a million dollars a year, you're going to be in trouble if you don't know how to manage that because then you're going to get into serious financial trouble.

That's why it's better to learn how to manage what you already have. Master managing what you already have and then as things grow you'll have that foundation, these money management skills that will help you to succeed at a later point in your life as well. Thank you for watching this video. Hopefully, you enjoyed it. Check out the videos that I have on investing for beginners if you're in a position where you're able to save money and start to invest. 

If you want to learn how to build your online business and make more money online specifically passive income, then check out the link below to a free course that I have that share seven online business models that help make me an Internet millionaire that will help you get started building your online business. Thank you guys for watching this video and I'll see you in the next one.