This piece is part of my 2016–2026 archive migration. Some original formatting, content, and external links may be missing, changed, or not be optimized.
Start 2023 Right With Your Money
Every year gives you a fresh chance to do it better
Every month ruthlessly go through your budget to determine what other expense non-essential spending you can obliterate.
I run through my budget several times a week.
Aside from adding the outlays, I analyze to see what I can cut out; by doing this, I continually find opportunities to cut until I’m questioning the things I thought were essential.
“Hmmmm….maybe I can cut that, too.”
When you keep revising an expense, you may find it no longer needs a space in your budget.
2. Don’t rely on one source of income.
If 2020, 2021, and 2022 taught us anything, it is to be diversified our income pool.
Always have more than one primary source of income.
By doing this, you relieve yourself of financial anxiety.
But you also do something else: you delay and mitigate your dependence on your emergency fund.
Now, this doesn’t mean you can get away with not having an emergency fund, but if you lose one source of income, it’s nice not to have to dip into our emergency funds to cover our asses because we lost our primary source of income.
3. If you have a financial mentor, implement their sound advice.
Notice I said implement their sound advice.
Not all advice is viable.
I’ve been thinking a lot about foresight lately; one of my closest confidants continues to discuss the subject.
Foresight is meaningless without action.
Foresight Is Meaningless Without Action: Are You Still Not Investing?
We can get all the advice and education, but if we don’t implement and act on the knowledge, what is the point of attaining it in the first place?
It’s almost as if energy, time, and effort have been wasted because the one who received all three of those things did absolutely nothing with them.
My mentor encouraged me to educate myself on crypto and taxes continually.
I started reading books and articles, and it’s been a game-changer for my finances.
4. Delay your purchases.
One of my siblings makes fun of me because they say I take too long to make decisions.
No lie, it took me about six years to decide whether or not to get a bed frame; hence, I slept on the floor for six years, but I enjoyed every minute of it.
You don’t need to take six years to decide on a purchase, but you could probably use 48–72 hours before jumping the gun.
I follow this rule with 90% of my large or “silly” purchases.
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It’s critical to consider whether the investment you are about to make with your money is genuinely worth it.
Is it?
It may not be after 72 hours of pondering the purchase.
Or it might not be.
Think thrice before buying, and you’ll probably save thousands of dollars.
Not bad.
5. Eat out less.
Frequently I conduct detoxes and exercises such as not eating out; these can carry on for weeks or months at a time.
The most challenging time of year to eat clean
It’s a disciplined exercise in two parts: one for health and one for finances.
I can easily spend hundreds of dollars eating out, but at what cost?
It will put a mark on my budget, and it will also slow down my energy levels, cloud my thinking, and add stuff to my body that shouldn’t be there in the first place.
Eating out is one of my favorite things because it’s so easy, convenient, and saves me time!
But, I like to practice this exercise annually to remind myself that my health and finances are more important than a quick bite and fleeting experience that, over time, could impact my health negatively if I engage in it too frequently.
6. Stop trading your time for money.
I work a lot and have my hands in several pots.
At times, it’s overwhelming.
I often ask myself: “what is it all for?”
Asking myself the question helps me to keep everything in perspective.
But there are also some other questions I need to think about continually:
Am I setting healthy boundaries with work?
Am I spending time with my family?
Am I engaging in relationships?
Am I taking care of myself?
It’s easy to trade our time for money.
A more intelligent decision is to learn how to create more time for yourself.
Sometimes you will work more than other times, but be careful.
Remember, everything you’re working for can all disappear instantly, just like your life.
Keep your priorities in check by asking yourself, “What is it all for?”
7. If you’re gun-hoe about getting people gifts, start saving NOW.
Maybe you’re into Christmas gifts.
Instead of waiting until the last minute to forge up resources to buy all of those gifts, save a portion every month so that when Christmas comes around, you already have an allotted amount of resources to spend.
Maybe you want to be extra kind this holiday; if you start saving now, you’ll put a lot of friendly smiles on people’s faces later this year.
Each month, I allocate some of my resources to generosity.
This works well for me.
Do what works well for you so you can give how you desire.
This content is for informational purposes only — not professional advice. Consult a qualified professional before making any major decisions.