This week, I’m talking about life changing money habits.These are the habits, the goals, and the behaviors that will have the biggest impact on your life. 

Today, I’m sharing with you what I think is the most impactful life changing money habit - track your spending. Would it surprise you to know that even people who make really good money decisions, people who are able to delay gratification today, and live within their means still have trouble keeping track of where their money goes every month.

In my experience in working with clients I find that this is often the case. Most of us have no idea where our money goes every month. We don’t really have a good handle on how much we really spend on groceries, eating out, gas, and the treacherous Target run. 

Yet, for those of you who actually do track your spending, you can attest for those of us who don’t, how eye-opening this one habit is. Understanding where you’re money goes every month is the first step to accomplishing nearly every other financial goal - want to get out of debt? You’ll need to know how much you have available to devote to paying down debt? Want to save more for retirement or your kids college? You need to know what you’re spending in order to determine where you can cut back in one area to save more in another area? 

Understanding the in (i.e. the income) side is easy. Understanding the out is a little more tricky, but the good news is that with technology, you can track most of your spending these days automatically, so understanding your cash flow isn’t the time-intensive chore that it used to be. 

If you’re not already tracking your spending, I encourage you to start here. It will open your eyes and unlock new possibilities for reaching your financial goals. 

That’s it for today, but before you go...we have a special virtual event coming up on Wednesday, January 27th at 7pm Pacific - The 2021 Economic Outlook, featuring renowned economist John Mitchell. Boring economic outlooks are a dime a dozen, but John is hands down one of the most charming and engaging economists you’ll hear. This is an invite only exclusive event for our clients with the opportunity for Q&A at the end to ask your burning questions. 

I have 25 tickets reserved for listeners of the One Minute Retirement Tip, so if you’d like to attend just send me an email - [email protected] - and if you’re one of the first 25 to email me, I’ll send you the link to register. That email again is [email protected]. 

Thanks for listening. My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip. 

----------

>>> Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2DI2LSP

>>> Subscribe on Amazon Alexa: https://amzn.to/2xRKrCs

>>> Check out our blog: https://truenorthretirementadvisors.com/blog/

----------

Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, finances, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, wealth management, money tips, fee only financial advisor, financial planner, financial podcast, retirement podcast, financial independence podcast