Hey, welcome to week one of my mini Money Mastermind course. Congratulations on making the decision to take that first step towards financial fitness. A lot of people sit around and worry about their financial situation, and are really afraid to take action. So you should really pat yourself on the back for investing in yourself and your future by taking the time to learn about how to change your current situation. I know money is an incredible stressor. And well it may have felt like a mountain you could never ever begin to climb.

I'm here to tell you as living proof that you can overcome this hurdle. If you follow the detailed steps in this course, you're going to learn how to use the resources you already have and start to see that light at the end of your financial tunnel. All right. This week, we're going to build the foundation of what will become your new financial house. In order to get in a place of financial stability, it's really important to identify exactly where you stand with your current finances. All right.

So we're going to create a budget. I know it's not the most fun or the most glamorous task, but it's 100%, the most crucial step. Okay, you got to know your income. The first thing you're going to need to do is get a grasp of how much money you're actually bringing in on a monthly basis. If you don't have a steady income, that's totally fine. Take an average based on the last six months and then you're going to use that as your baseline.

Okay, but remember, you have to deduct factors such as your income tax, pension plan contributions, and anything else that's going to be docked from your pay if you're not paid via payroll. Be sure to deduct enough to cover your taxes about 25% of your monthly income. If you don't include these deductions, you're gonna have an inflated idea of what your take home pay is. So you have to put that into perspective. Okay? Okay, now it's the time to figure out your monthly expenses.

Be sure to download your worksheet that's down below when you're ready to work on your budget this week. Okay, so your fixed expenses would be things to include such as your rent or your mortgage or car payments, student loans, things like that. These expenses remained pretty constant month, month after month. But now you have to worry about the variable expenses, like groceries, gas, things that fluctuate to maybe property taxes, entertainment, budget, credit cards, things like that. You want to be able to take the average cost of those was over six months before plugging them into your worksheet. Okay, so make a list of everything you spend money on every single month, from rent to groceries, so on and then write it all down and be honest about the cost.

If you know you spend five bucks on a latte every day, or you get your nails done twice a month, or go to the movies every week, make sure you include that because you need to be able to see the full scope of what you're actually spending every month. So one easy way that you can do that and get an idea to make your list is check your online bank or your credit cards because online banks and credit cards tend to show a monthly breakdown of your expenses. Well, it's not 100% accurate, it'll give you a good jumping off point if you don't know this off the top of your head. Well if you're not able to find that information from your bank or your credit card statements, then take this month to write down every single bill that comes in and is paid every receipt, categorize that and at the end of the month.

You're Have a nice idea of what your monthly spending is. If you're not able to jot them down off the top of your head, this is a really foolproof way to kind of get that done. I need you to be honest with yourself. A lot of financial experts are going to tell you that you should create a budget based on what you bring in. And yes, of course, I totally agree. However, when it applies to real life, it can be really hard to stick to a super tight budget.

I tend to think of creating a budget sort of in the way you create a diet plan. If you're trying to lose weight, and you swear off everything I say for the next six months. You're just gonna eat dry salads, no way people are gonna fall off the wagon in order that extra large pizza by the third day. So being too restrictive with that, and being dishonest with yourself is the same way when it comes to making a budget. Okay, so what I want you to do is make your list of every single monthly expense And once you've tallied it up, okay, you might have a little bit of a heart attack, but that's okay. It's totally normal.

Seeing that amount of money that you're spending every month in one lump sum can be pretty scary, but that's okay. It can totally be tweaked. So obviously, you have to pay your rent, you got to buy your groceries and all that stuff to live. But when you're making your list, I want you to be sure to list separately or put a star by the absolute must expenses. And then when you're left with the rest, like your entertainment, your latte habit, your nails, cocktails, whatever. I want you to be really honest.

So it's not realistic to proclaim, okay, never gonna have a latte again. Just like that diet. You have to allow yourself some wiggle room. Maybe you can't afford the seven days a week habit but maybe added in twice a week. Yes. So you're if you love going to brunch with your friends or going to happy hour, once a week, make sure that you budget These things in, because once you see how much you're bringing in versus how much you're letting out, you're going to be able to prioritize, and then perhaps find creative ways to stick to your budget without totally going off the deep end and not having any fun.

So seeing that lump sum will really paint the picture of exactly what you need every single month to pay all your bills and to survive, and then have a little bit of a life. That's why this step is so important, because if we don't keep track of our monthly spending habits, we never know what's coming in what's going out and then we can't move forward properly. Okay, I know that was a lot to take in and have your work cut out for you this week. In fact, this week is the most time consuming of all the modules as I mentioned, but it's the most important one to build a financial foundation. So make sure you set aside time this week to list your expenses honestly And then create your budget on that worksheet that you have to download that's right below here. So good luck and I'll see you all next week.