Create financial habits that are easy to stick with
One reason so many people fail to keep up with their finances is that they simply never got in the habit. They only look at their bank accounts when they absolutely have to. Or when they have a few extra minutes, which they rarely seem to have. This leads to a neglectful relationship with money. And your money notices!
The solution is to consciously create the habit of having one-on-one time with your finances.
(Want to listen instead of read? This info is now on Youtube.)
To have a nurturing relationship with your money, you must find a way to stay up-to-date with your finances on a regular basis. This includes all your money tasks like tracking income and expenses, checking your bank account, sending invoices, or paying bills. Anything that involves money and your business, needs to be tended to.
There is no right or wrong way to stay on top of these things. The important thing is to do it in a way that works for you. You'll increase your chances of sticking with your financial habits if you like them, rather than feeling like you're forcing yourself.
Here are some ideas that may help you form the healthy financial habits that I know you’re capable of.
REGULAR APPOINTMENTS
Are you the type of person who lives by their appointment calendar? Then make a regular appointment with yourself to work on your bookkeeping. You may need to block time off in your calendar every Monday at 4 pm and spend 30 minutes with your finances. (Honestly, 30-45 minutes a week is plenty of time for most self-employed people.)
Personally, I sit down to do my bookkeeping three times a month, on the 10th, 20th, and 30th. I have the time blocked off in the calendar on my phone and it reminds me of these appointments 24 hours in advance. On these days I import all my banking transactions into my accounting software, prepare invoices, pay bills, budget cash flow, etc. This appointment takes me about an hour each time.
ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER, CO-WORKING
A calendar appointment doesn’t work for everyone. Some people are better at getting tasks done if they are accountable to someone else. If this is you, you may benefit from an accountability partner. Find someone who wants you to succeed. Tell them your plan on getting your finances done by a certain day. Then ask them to check in with you about it. Your accountability partner could be a spouse, a friend, or another professional also trying to keep up with their finances.
Another option is to use co-working sessions to complete your money tasks. Co-working is where two or more people set dates and times to meet. They tell each other what they'll be working on, and then privately work on their individual projects at the same time. I personally love this method when I need to get things done, but struggle to focus on them. There is something very helpful about telling another human what you plan to do, and then immediately doing it then and there. If this option appeals to you, consider checking out Focus Mate, which creates online co-working sessions with people all over the world 24 hours a day.
HABIT STACKING
You could also try something called habit stacking. This is where you add a new behavior onto one you've already established. So if there is something you already do easily and regularly, you can implement a new task just before or just after it.
For example, I'm already in the habit of sitting down every Thursday to plan out meals and groceries for the next week. I do this because Thursday is the deadline to order groceries from an online service I use, so it forces me to stay on schedule. If I were building a new financial habit, I might choose to focus on my finances right after I place my online grocery order.
GET STARTED NOW
Without a plan, most people don’t put in the time with their money. They easily let one week go by, and then another, and then a few months. Before they know it, it’s tax time again. Another year of scrambling and stressing because they didn't keep up with their financial relationship. Doing whatever you can to stay on top of your finances feels way better than winging it and failing.
You can create whatever habits you like, and change them as you need. The important thing is to start a regular, healthy relationship with your finances.
Any of the previously mentioned methods are incredibly helpful and very simple to implement. Are you going to implement one or more of them? Something else? What? When? (Hint - now is a great time)
For even more help creating a nurturing relationship with your finances, check out my Simplify Your Finances tiny course
