1st Rule in Business Success~Fiscal Responsibility (not a Louis Vuitton)

Fiscal Responsibility is often easy to understand but hard to execute and implementing it into your life can be one of the hardest tasks you will ever have to accomplish.

What does this really mean, fiscal responsibility? And how can I become fiscally responsible?  

Fiscal responsibility at its core has a simple meaning: To be fiscally responsible, you need to live within your means today, tomorrow and in the future, and it is essential to creating a better, stronger and more prosperous financial future for the rest of your life.  The choices you make today will determine the kind of future you have years from now.  In short it means, you need to live within your financial earnings and to live within your earnings, you must spend less than you make.  In today’s society that is easier said than done.  With so many goods and services taunting us with their beautiful packaging it is hard to stay focused on our fiscal goals and don't even get me started on our need to stay neck-in-neck with the the women around us.  The saying, "we are in debt up to our earrings," is the just a drop in our Louis Vuitton bucket purse, the one we just couldn't live without.

Photo Courtesy of fashiongonerogue.com

So where do I start?

First you must take a look at your current credit debt, is it larger than you can pay off in a single month?  If so than you are already living beyond your financial earnings. Carrying large amounts of Credit Debt can make you feel trapped and often frightened about your future, carrying large amounts of debt can feel like a weight upon your shoulders that just never really goes away.  Removing credit debt can make you feel more alive and more in control of your future.  It is a sense of freedom very few people get to enjoy.

What can I do next?

Printable Expense Worksheet

You will need to sit down with pen and paper in hand and work out your current expenses on an income and expense worksheet, scary yes.   But this is a tool you will use to create a new approach to your spending habits.   Fill in every box on the expenses worksheet and if you have more expenses then by all means add those too.  Leave nothing out: This is where you have to be honest with yourself.  If it is a part of your monthly expense habits it needs to be on your sheet.  If you have quarterly or yearly expense then break those down by 12 months and add those to the sheet.

How can I stay on track?

Look at ways to limit your personal spending.  Cut down on those items in your life that just do not fit into the budget you have created.  Get rid of the wants in your life and focus on the needs.  Remove the clutter your home and make room for more time instead of more stuff.   Manage your personal expenses as if you had no idea how much money you were going to make in the next 30 days.   Find free and interesting entertainment ideas.  And by all means focus on the important essential items instead of those unnecessary items.

Living life in a more simple approach is never easy but with hard work and a commitment to your financial future the end result will give you peace of mind and a stronger financial foundation.

Be fiscally responsible and feel financially free.

Cheers,

Toni