7 Tips to be More Consistent With Your Money
I know. It’s been a hot minute since this blog was updated. Lots of life things happened. Baylee, the amazing person that she is, wrote this piece for Life at $23k and I’ve had it in a draft stage for months. Baylee, you are granted one REALLY good kick to my shins. It’s in writing now. It’s legal.
Anyway, this piece about how to be more consistent with money and finances is just the thing I needed to read (again). When life decides to get weird, you handle it. Then, when you’re ready, you get back to center. If you’re still realing from the holiday season or anything else that’s thrown you off course, keep reading to learn how to get yourself back on track.
"Enthusiasm is common. Endurance is rare."
- Angela Duckworth, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance.
Anyone who knows me knows that consistency is NOT my strong suit. I'll sprint and then walk instead of just jogging, take on way too much at school one semester and then nothing the next, and will text people back MAYBE half of the time (I'm sorry!).
Like a lot of other people, I tend to fly, crash, and burn way more often than not. It's almost as if I like the feeling of flying for only 2 seconds more than I care to actually build a plane that works and- you know- sustains me. Sound familiar?
I used to think that it was okay to operate that way. I told myself that I could lean into when I was naturally inspired and motivated and let myself "rest" when I wasn't. Or that I "didn't really know what I wanted to do" anyway, so I might as well explore my options- no matter how much it cost me personally or financially. There was some element of truth to this thought process, and that's probably why I persisted with it for so long. When you're in college and struggling with what exactly you want to do with your life, it probably pays to shop around and spend time (and money) discovering your interests.
But the phrase "consistency is key" exists for a reason. I felt myself becoming more and more of a "jack of all trades" type and felt truly good at nothing. And worse- it wasn't just affecting all of the typical decisions, like "what should I choose for a career" or "what hobbies are worth the cash and time". Inconsistency started seeping into everything- especially my money!
If you spend a few months saving money for an emergency fund and then blow half of it on a spontaneous weekend trip, then your lack of consistency kept you from meeting an important goal.
If you never prioritize your spending or learn to be consistent with it (at least for a set amount of time), then you might just miss out on all of the typical "big purchases" that people look forward to in adulthood, like buying a house, having a wedding, or starting to save for retirement.
The pitfalls of not being consistent with your money.
So what happens if you're not consistent with your money? The consequences are different for everyone, and they may be sudden or sneak up on you over the course of years or even decades. Here are some issues I've had with my money:
As you can see, the root problem to consistency problems is usually valid- or at least a normal part of life. But the consequences are still there, and if they can be avoided they should be! This is especially true when it comes to your money.
My problems with consistency just mean that I had to figure out EXACTLY what works best. So here are my top tips for anyone struggling with being consistent with their money, based on my own experiences, the input of experts, and great tips I've picked up from casual discussions online.
Top 7 tips for being consistent with your money.
1) Try different budgeting methods until you find one that works.
There's nothing more unproductive than looking at your statements- month after month- and thinking the same old thing over and over again: "Oh, I should budget better."
"Shoulds" kill productivity. Why? Because they don't address the big things that are holding you back. Like the fact that you hate spreadsheets. Or you feel guilty for getting a latte every morning- but only because you heard on the radio that they were a "waste of money". Or the fact that trying to find a place for every dollar feels overwhelming and pointless.
This might come as a bit of a surprise to some, but you actually don't have to stick to a traditional budget if you're not the spreadsheet type. There are multiple alternative budgets that just might suit your lifestyle better!
For instance, an anti-budget starts with how much you want to save every month and lets you freely spend the rest. The 30/50/20 budget splits your income (whatever it is) into 3 categories (discretionary spending, non-discretionary spending, and savings) and lets you move on with your life. The "spending ceiling" budget gives you a set amount to spend every month and the rest goes to savings.
Personally, I find it a LOT easier to stick to an alternative budget than a traditional one. Honestly, if I'm going to dig deep into a money topic, I'd rather it was something cool like how much a stock would be worth today or how lifestyles look in different parts of the world. Not stressing because I was over $5 in the groceries line and under $5 in the gas line.
2) Clarify your goals, even if they're small.
If being consistent is your problem, then starting small is your answer. James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones, says it best: "You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems."
Maybe instead of just thinking, "I want to buy a house", outline all of the steps you'll need to get there and focus on implementing systems to achieve those goals first. Remember- what gets measured gets managed!
3) WAIT a set amount of time before making big or frivolous purchases. (clothes, flights, etc). Spontaneous spending is what most often kills consistency in my budget. I mean, it's not like I'm spontaneously making more money! One tip is to keep a note on your phone of all the things you come across in your day-to-day life that you want to buy. After a week or month, feel free to review the note and consider actually buying the things you wanted. Chances are, you'll have forgotten about half of the list!
4) Do the easy and fun stuff first. Sounds contradictory? It's not. It's so much easier to be consistent when you actually like what you're doing! When I'm in a rut, it helps me to just open Mint and browse around when I feel like I can't fully commit to handling my money. But then I always wind up diving in a little more.
5) Auto invest. Make the best choices your default choices! Richard Thaler, a Nobel Prize-winning economist and the author of Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness, devoted his life's work to showing how you can make transformational positive changes in your life just by making them the easiest option available to you.
His most notable achievement in terms of real-world change has probably been convincing employers to automatically opt their employees in to making retirement contributions rather than automatically opting them out and waiting for them to sign up themselves. It turns out, most people who are already signed up to contribute to their 401k's would rather just continue to contribute to their retirement plans than call to change their contributions! He's estimated to have increased American's retirement savings by roughly $30 billions dollars- just by implementing this trick.
6) Set up autopay for important bills. This comes down to the same exact reasoning as above. Make the right choice for you the easiest choice for you, and things will begin to fall into place much easier.
7) Focus on one thing at a time. It's no secret that it's usually harder to stay consistent the more plates you're juggling. You don't want to focus on one thing until you think you're perfect, but until it's part of the system you have going for yourself.
Remember James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits? He has a great article on consistency, titled Plan for Failure: Being Consistent is Not the Same as Being Perfect.
Consistency doesn't mean that you execute the same perfect plan every single day for the rest of your life. Life itself gets in the way of our "perfect plans" for ourselves. Gritty personal finance and consistent money habits just mean that you reach your money goals through concrete plans you can rely on for yourself, like habits, resilience, and effort.
Bio: Baylee Bryant is an LPL Registered Financial Advisor. She is affiliated with Financial Design Group, Inc, in Des Moines, WA and lives in Tacoma. She can be reached at baylee.bryant@lpl.com