Are you tired of being broke and not sure what to do next? Don’t know how to stop being broke?
If you are broke and don’t know where to turn. I am here to help! First, you are not alone and there is a way out.
No matter how dark things seem right now. You are not destined to be broke all the time. You have the power to change your financial future. It starts now.
I’ve been where you are today. I know what it is like to fear the end of the month because you can’t afford rent. To be uncertain of when your next paycheck is coming.
I also know money problems can feel out of our control.
In 2020, I was hit hard by the pandemic. I struggled to get work to pay my bills, to buy groceries to carry on with living.
Feeling broke has a way of making a person feel broken.
I felt broken. But then I started taking accountability for my money life. I used the practical money strategies I had learned over the years and put them into action in my real life.
Things slowly began to change. I began to develop financial confidence, opportunities came my way and my bank balance grew.
Below are seven action steps to help you regain control over your money problems.
They involve commitment, determination, and willingness to accept where you are now and to decide where you want to go.
Let’s do this!
Step #1: Take 100% responsibility for your financial life
To create real change in your life, you must admit that your decisions got you where you are today. Not the pandemic, government, the economy, or the “system.” Not your employer, bad luck, or fate.
I know we are all feeling the burn of everything that is going on around us, (inflation is cra-cra!) but we must accept our role in our current financial predicament despite all the external circumstances.
When I look back on the times I found myself in a money pit it was because…
- I had too much pride to accept a job that “didn’t fit me” even though I needed the money.
- I lacked more than one source of income
- I racked up credit card debt in the past which negatively impacted my future
- I bought unnecessary stuff on a whim.
- I let money rule me instead of me learning to control it.
- I avoided educating myself about taxes
Yikes!
Consider what decisions you have made in the past that have led you to where you are today. Where did you go wrong? Is there room for improvement?
Forgive yourself!
Apologize to your old financial self.
Say sorry to the people you have harmed with your money mistakes.
Learn from your past and move on!
Make different choices.
Take massive action toward your financial freedom. Only you can save yourself.
Step #2: Be Grateful
When I was at my most broke and lowest. I remember only seeing lack in my life. There wasn’t enough food in the fridge, dollars in the bank, or toothpaste in the tube.
Money seemed so damn hard to get.
During this state of scarcity, I decided to counteract it by being grateful.
Every day I wrote 10 things I was grateful for in a journal.
Somedays it was easy. On other days it was hard.
I also created a “money gratitude jar.”
I had been mad at money for so long that I knew I needed to shift my focus on all the times that money was there for me.
I started recording every time money came my way, in any shape or form.
I wrote it on a slip of paper and put it in a clear jar that I could see everyday. As a visual reminder that money is there for me!
- An unexpected $50 gift card from a friend.
- A free meal.
- Finding $10 bucks on the ground.
As I began to do this money started coming to me more easily.
- A stranger bought me a coffee just because!
- I was reimbursed $1500 for a conference ticket.
- Hired to work on a project with a payout of $25k.
Shifting into a state of gratitude is paramount to attracting more money into your life and letting the financial flood gates open.
- Even if you feel like you have anything to be grateful for.
- Even if you feel that life is crap and that it couldn’t be crapper.
- Even if you have no job, no hope, and no money.
FIND SOMETHING TO BE GRATEFUL FOR.
RIGHT HERE. RIGHT NOW.
It will increase your happiness. Open you up for opportunities.
Before you know it you will begin to see all the abundance around you!
Step #3: Tell Your Dollars What To Do
You are the boss of your money. Not the other way around. I know that it doesn’t feel that way. But it’s true. It’s your job to tell your money what to do.
So from now on, pay attention to where every single dollar goes.
- Put an alert on your phone.
- Look at your bank account(s) daily.
- Pay attention to the cash register.
Most importantly. Start a budget.
A Budget is not a prison.
A budget is the very thing you need to get you closer to financial freedom.
Budgets are sexy! Why?
Because you are the ruler of your money and you are telling your money where to go and what to do. Like a Queen on a Throne! It’s a powerful feeling.
Warning: don’t budget wrong! This subject is worth an entire blog post in itself.
In simple terms.
Don’t budget by looking at your bank balance and assuming you can or can’t afford it.
Instead, you must give every dollar a job.
$1000 for rent. $400 for groceries. $20 for nails.
Secondly, only budget money you ACTUALLY HAVE!
Not in the foreseeable future.
You get a paycheck.
Tell that money from the paycheck where to go. Which categories the $$$ will be delegated to via the envelope method or YNAB. Rinse & Repeat!
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The more you do this, the more empowered you will feel.
It’s no longer spending money blindly.
You can now figure out how you can afford something you truly want.
You Need A Budget has saved my financial life in so many ways.
I now have 0 personal credit card debt because I gave every dollar a job and discovered that I had excess money which I put toward paying off consumer debt.
I hated doing a budget at first, but now I feel like a Queen telling my money exactly where to go and what to do. You can do it too!
I challenge you to watch your money like a hawk for 90 days.
Set up a budget via the envelop system or YNAB right now.
Step #4: Cut off Bad Debt
I know want means to be so broke that you have to put your groceries on a credit card.
If you have to do it, do it. But pay that motherf*cker off as soon as you get an opportunity.
Consumer credit debt is like cancer eating away at a healthy body. You got to cut it out!
You should know there is bad debt and good debt. This topic is worthy of a complete blog post but for now, be aware of the following.
BAD DEBT: goes towards purchasing liabilities such as a car, shoes, or a vacation. Things that depreciate. This debt doesn’t make you money it makes you poor.
If you don’t pay the creditors back in full and on time you will incur interest and lose money.
This will negatively impact your overall net worth and move you further from being able to build wealth.
GOOD DEBT: goes towards investing in assets that will bring more money. Things that appreciate and go up in value.
Money earned from the asset can be used to pay off the debt on time while also saving on taxes and building wealth by increasing your net worth
I am only going to say it once.
- STOP using your credit cards to buy liabilities.
- STOP making yourself broke by accumulating bad debt.
- Cut the cards up if you have to.
- Take the numbers off your autosaves on your computer for future purchases.
No more co-dependency on credit cards to keep up the life you have become accustomed to.
I know it’s hard but as Glennon Doyle says “We can do hard things.”
If you mess up. Try again.
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Step #5: Get an income now!
If you have no source of money right now, it’s time to put your pride aside and get a J-O-B.
A temp job. Do some handy work. Do whatever it takes to legally find a means to make money immediately even if it’s not your calling or within your field. I don’t care if it’s embarrassing. Do it!
Once I walked dogs during a two-month period of desperate unemployment. I went from making $3k+ a week to $30 bucks per dog walk. It’s what I had to do to carry on. It’s one chapter in my life I’d like to forget. But I did it to survive.
Do whatever is required to get by right now.
If you are in survival mode and not sure how you will afford rent or food.
I know it sucks but you know what sucks worse? Not have ANY money.
No quick fixes: money schemes, day trading, business ideas that will cost you time and money, or illegal activity. Work that pays now.
You will start feeling better when the money begins to flow your way again.
Step #6: 10% goes to YOU
Once the money rolls in, ALWAYS pay yourself 10% first!
What do I mean by paying yourself first?
This 10% doesn’t go to your creditors, the landlord, or your favorite store.
It goes to the FUTURE YOU.
This money is to make more money for your future self.
- Put this 10% into an interest-earning account, like a savings or money market account, and start building an emergency fund.
- Your goal is to get it up to $1000.
- Then build it up to 3-6 months of living expenses.
Then this is the fun part! You can begin to use it to build your wealth through investing!
This cache of nuts you squirrel away will help you to become unbroke and steps closer to being rich!
You might be thinking…
I am barely making ends meet, you expect me to save 10%? Y-E-S.
Find a way to make it work, make it automatic, and trim other expenses if you must.
Always pay yourself 10% first. Period. I don’t care if it’s one dollar. Do it.
This one action can forever change your financial outlook.
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Step #7: Learn about Money
If you want to avoid being broke and frustrated again, then you will need to learn everything you can about money. No more excuses.
- Pick up financial books at your local library.
- Talk to people who are living the lifestyle you desire.
- Listen to audiobooks.
- Watch YouTube.
Find trusted and reliable sources that can teach you the laws of money and how to use them to your advantage.
Click on this link for the 12 Best Financial Books that have changed my life ! They are also listed at the bottom of this page.
If your situation is dire...
Lastly, if you find yourself in a desperate situation ask for help!
- If you can’t afford rent, call your landlord.
- If you can’t pay your bank fees, call your bank.
- If you can’t make your credit card payments, call the credit card company.
- If you can’t make your tax payments or student loan payments, get on a payment plan.
- If you need a family member or friend to give you a loan to survive, ask for help.
Do your best not to owe people debts for your overall survival, but if you are in a dire situation then don’t make it worse by being too scared to find support.
Avoid making it a habit to live on other people’s money.
Once you get back on your feet, focus on achieving financial independence and empowerment by following these seven simple, life-changing steps.
