Business Owners and Creatives, Are Your Finances a Confusing Mess? Try This To Get Organized…
When finances are a cluttered mess, it’s easy to lose track of things. Debt grows, spending gets out of control and when we get overwhelmed, we tend to avoid dealing with our finances.
So today, I’d like to walk you through a three-step process to simplify and organize your finances. And if you prefer to watch the video, please check it out here…
My name is Lucas and welcome. I used to have 4 debit cards, 5 credit cards, 3 banks and 6 different accounts. I was always falling behind on my bills and My business and personal finances were a mess.
Then one day while cleaning my house I realized how much lighter and clear headed I was once the junk was gone. And that’s when it hit me - why not do the same thing with my money? So, today we are going to clean house!
As we get started i’d like to point out that I’m not a financial expert & this is not financial advice. I share what works for my clients and I so take what you will and leave the rest. Remember, your financial choices are always your responsibility - I accept no liability.
Are you ready to roll up your sleeves and get a little dirty? Grab a pen and a piece of paper and let’s get to it.
It’s Time To Clean House!
Step 1: The first thing to do is take inventory and figure out how much financial clutter you currently have.
Credit and debit cards, checking and savings accounts, different financial institutions - it’s time to get clear on all of it.
Start by listing all of your credit and debit cards, including the ones you haven’t used for a while.
Then, list all of your bank accounts AND all of the different financial institutions that you currently use.
Next is to list all of your different payment methods - cash, checks, venmo, paypal, whatever.
And lastly, please list all of the different days of the month that you currently pay bills on.
As an example, I used to pay my mortgage on the 3rd, insurance on the 15th, car payment on the 12th, netflix on the 18th and so on. Take your time with this and be thorough. Make sure to list ever financial product that you currently have - even if you don’t use it.
If you’ve never done this, you may be pleasantly surprised at how helpful it can be to shed some light on your current day to day finances. I had so many financial products, it was no wonder I was always overwhelmed and stressed when the the topic of money came up.
I was making life way more complicated than it needed to be. So Naturally, I wanted to get rid of the financial clutter and simplify, and that brings us to step two.
“I once worked with a couple that 13 credit and debit cards! Thirteen!”
Do you know how much energy is wasted trying to keep track of all of that? Now they have 1 business credit card and one personal credit card and they love how much simpler their life is.
Step 2: What can you get rid of?
Start with your banks - what can you close or consolidate to make things simpler? For example, I had 3 different banks, so I consolidated down to 1.
And for my bank accounts, I set it up to have 1 personal checking and savings. And 1 business checking and savings. Simple
When it comes to venmo, PayPal, cash, checks - they’re supposed to make our lives easier and they do, unless we have 15 of them to keep track of. Simplify. Pick 1 or 2 and close the rest.
Bill Paying:
I never gave much thought to when my bills were getting paid but because I had so many other things to think about, I’d often forget about one or two bills and fall behind but when I grouped them all to be paid on the 1st and 15th, I knew exactly when that money was going to leave my account
Consider Grouping all of your bills to be paid on just 2 or 3 days of the month. 1st and 15th, 10th and 20th, whatever works for you. Personally, I pay the mortgage and several smaller bills on the 1st and all of the medium sized bills on the 15th. This keeps things clean and simple and because they’re no longer scattered, I rarely think about my bills.
Credit and Debit Cards:
As for the debit and credit cards, start with any that have not been used for the last 6 months and close them out. If you’re worried that you’ll ruin your credit score like I was, start slow, pay em off and close em one at a time and watch what happens to your score.
I’m not a credit expert and this is not credit advice. I’m a dude who got rid of 3 credit cards, kept 1 for my business, 1 for my personal and my credit score went through the roof. My clients have had similar experiences. So if you’re worried, go slow and close them out one at a time.
By putting all of my business expenses on the business card, and all of the personal expenses on the personal card, I never co-mingle funds and my spending is really easy to keep track of. Plus, my bookkeeper loves how organized everything is.
Step 3: The Most Important Step…
Now for the final and most important step…. Are you ready? Take a GIANT breathe of uncluttered air and enjoy your newfound freedom!
If you get overwhelmed just thinking about all of your accounts, cards and bills, I don’t blame you. So, get rid of ‘em. Close ‘em out and free yourself from the unnecessary stress. Keep the ones that are actually helpful and then slam the door shut on all of the others
Every financial product you have is making a big corporation rich..
So, if it’s adding to your stress, get rid of it. Clean the financial clutter and simplify. Feel free to comment by the way, I ‘d love to learn more about you.
Thank you for your time and energy! Until next time…
Lucas Z.