The journey to financial wellness can be rough and daunting if you don't already have healthy money habits.  I had to learn these habits the hard way.  I was raised in a household that did not have any healthy money habits.  It was very common, even when my mom worked a job that paid very well, to still live "paycheck to paycheck".  There were months where the spending in the household included "floating checks" or swiping the debit card and hoping the transaction didn't post before the next payday. 

It wasn't because the money wasn't there...  Like I said, my mom was paid very well for her job.  It was because there was no budget, no savings plan, and no self control.  I remember when I was 16 years old, I got my first job so that I could have my own money to do the things I wanted to do and to buy the things I wanted.  At least, that was the idea. 

Every two weeks when I got paid, which coincidentally were the opposite weeks of when my mom got paid, she would ask if she could "borrow" money for things we needed for the house...  Basic things like paying a bill or buying groceries.  Being a good son, I always gave her the money.  But, it still never seemed to be enough. 

Looking back at it now, I see and understand that it wasn't because of the money (or lack thereof), it was because my mom didn't have any healthy habits in regards to money.  Because she didn't have these habits, she couldn't teach me these habits.  As a result, when I became an adult, I had very unhealthy money habits.  I actually remember in my youngest adult years that my bank called me in to discuss my account.  When I went in, they let me know that they were restricting my account and freezing what was deposited to go against my negative balance.  They let me know that I needed to finish paying them back and that once the account was at a zero balance it would be closed.

For several years after that, I felt that banks were "evil" and I dealt only in cash.  It made opening any type of utility or getting any type of credit line established nearly impossible.  But, at least by dealing in cash, I didn't have overdraft fees and didn't have to worry about a bank freezing my money again.  At that time, I walked to and from everywhere I needed or wanted to go.  Sometimes, I was lucky enough to get a ride from a friend. 

The benefit of this, I was able to save up enough money to buy a used car with cash for $900.  But, then came the problem of insurance.  Unless I could guarantee that I could make it to the local office to pay in person by my due date every month, the cash option wasn't viable.  So, I had to once again open a bank account. 

Fortunately, I had learned a valuable lesson and had a pretty good idea (or so I thought) to make sure I never overdrafted again.  When I would record my debits in my checkbook register, I would round them up to the next dollar.  That way, I always have more money in my account than I thought I did.  Keep in mind, this was before the days of digital banking.  It worked.  But it was always confusing when I got my bank statement and tried to balance my checkbook.  After a couple of months, it was so convoluted that I didn't know what transaction was what.

It wasn't until many years later that I finally understood where I went wrong and began learning how to work within an established budget, the importance of discussing finances with my spouse, how to pay bills on time, how to develop a savings plan, and how to properly balance a checkbook.  Once I understood that these were just some of the healthy money habits I needed, I started learning how to do it.  I did all of this on my own- and it was HARD!

Here are the 5 Weekly Habits:

1. Check your spending versus your plan.  This means having a budget.  Knowing how much you need to save for the following bill cycle and how much "free money" you actually have.  The budget tool in the resources section can help you with that and it is a tool that I offer for free.
2. Check your bank account for unexpected charges.  We all do it- you swipe your card or write a check somewhere and then forget about it when you get home.  This can and, at some point will, cause you to overdraft your account.  When that happens, you accrue additional charges that put you further negative.  That can really set you back financially if you aren't careful.
3. Pay bills due within the next 7 to 10 days.  I recommend setting up your budget to match your paydays.  Most of us have employers who pay on a specific schedule and you know your money will be available on a certain day.  That type of stability in your income drastically helps you know what to pay and when.  Pay everything that comes due before your next payday.  This covers the 7 to 10 days recommendation, and probably a couple more days.
4. Transfer money to savings.  This should happen EVERY payday that you can afford to do it.  You will be surprised how fast you grow your savings if you setup a split on your direct deposit to have a predetermined amount go to your savings account every payday.  You don't see that money in your checking account and you aren't moving it yourself.  That means you aren't tempted to get in the habit of "skipping a week".  The great thing about this is that you will also earn compound interest on your savings (I discuss that in detail in my Savings Bootcamp, Financial Wellness Workshops, and in my Financial Coaching Program).
5. Discuss financial matters with your significant other.  You and your significant other are in a partnership.  That means that you share the rewards and the burdens around money.  You need to communicate.  Not yell, not blame, not point fingers.  C-O-M-M-U-N-I-C-A-T-E!  If you have a goal, get your significant other to support you in your efforts.  If they have a goal, support them.  Ultimately, you are committing to each other to work together to achieve your goals.

They say the best time to take action was yesterday.  The next best time in NOW.  Start working on developing these habits now.  Talk to your significant other.  Come up with a plan.  If you don't think you can do it, you can!  If you decide you need help learning how to do this and need someone to help you be accountable to improving your financial wellness, contact me!