Tips for Mindful Money Management

Your "lifestyle creep" may be the reason you never get on track toward financial independence... Lifestyle creep is the phenomenon where your spending on lifestyle expenses gradually increases as your income rises This often occurs without a corresponding increase in personal satisfaction or happiness Over time, these higher expenses can become the new normal, making it difficult to save money or invest for the future, even though your income has increased significantly over time Let's face it.... ...are you really going to live the same lifestyle you did when you were entry level? That's unrealistic You're going to enjoy the fruits of your labor and create a more comfortable life for you and your family They key is to not let it get to the point where you spend mindlessly and it cripples your ability to save & invest Here are some strategies to prevent or minimize the creep: → Set financial goals Having clear, long-term financial goals, such as saving for retirement, buying a home, or funding education, can help prioritize spending and saving → Create and stick to a cash flow plan Regularly track income and expenses to understand where money is going This can help identify areas where spending is increasing and allow adjustments to be made before they become ingrained habits → Save first, then spend Implementing a "pay yourself first" strategy by automatically directing a portion of income into savings or investment accounts can ensure that saving goals are met before money is spent on non-essential items → Increase savings with income (savings as a %) When receiving a raise or bonus, allocate a portion of the increase to savings or investments, rather than increasing spending → Be mindful of spending triggers Recognize what triggers the desire to spend unnecessarily—such as social pressure, emotions, or advertising—and find ways to manage these triggers → Maintain financial awareness Regularly reviewing financial statements and tracking net worth can help maintain awareness of financial health → Practice delayed gratification Waiting before making a purchase can help differentiate between wants and needs, reducing impulse buying and unnecessary spending → Invest in quality, not quantity Choosing quality items that last longer can prevent frequent replacements and save money in the long term, even if the initial cost is higher → Focus on experiences over material goods Often, experiences such as travel, learning new skills, or spending time with family and friends brings more lasting happiness than material goods → Seek financial advice & accountability Professional financial advice can help create a structured financial plan and keep spending in line with long-term financial goals

Fundamental #16: THINK AND ACT LIKE AN OWNER  Spend company money wisely. Make decisions by asking yourself, “What would I do if this were my company? What would I do if this were my own money? Will this help the company to succeed?”    Well, you’d think this one would be an easy one for me to discuss. Surprisingly, it’s not… it’s hard to boil down all the wisdom you earn over 20 years of owning a company. A lot of it is gut feel, but if there is one principle I have that is easy to share: “Cash matters.”   A lot of folks don’t know that I started Infinitive without any loans… aside from PPP, we’ve never had any loans or debt. I started it leveraging personal savings and we lived off my wife’s income. But it helped that that the timing of our first project was aligned with the start of Infinitive. That gave me cashflow… or so I thought. I learned very quickly the ins and outs of a client’s procurement, invoicing, and payment processes. It took me 6 months to get my first check. We reduced our personal spend dramatically for a long time. I was confident Infinitive would get paid, but just didn’t know when. And once we got paid, believe it or not, I still didn’t pay myself anything. The money all stayed with Infinitive so that I could start hiring people aligned with selling new projects.     A few thoughts to re-enforce the importance of cash: - A company can be profitable, yet go out of business… why? Because they are profitable on paper, but no invoices are getting paid… they run out of cash. - A company lose millions of dollars a year and thrive… why? They have investors that believe in the company’s vision and continue to supply cash.  Amazon didn’t turn a profit for well over 10 years… and their stock price went up every year. - Cash is the oxygen and blood that enables a business to survive. Sales is the heartbeat, delivery is the sweat and tears… but without cash, a business dies.   We go to Vegas frequently for conferences. Whenever I go, somebody will ask if I plan to gamble at the casinos… I always laugh and say “no, we gamble every day at Infinitive… and I’ll take those odds over any casino any day”… we bet every day on each Infinitivian… on whether we hire somebody, who we put on a project, etc. And luckily, thanks to our team of Infinitiivians, we’ve won way more than we’ve lost.   So, whenever we spend company money, we should always ask, “Is the likely return on this spend positive and good?”   Be great… and be frugal!! 😊 #CEOInsights #DensDeepThoughts

You hate when prospects ghost you. Yet here you are, ghosting your finances? You build relationships for a living in sales. There's just one problem. You forgot one of the most important ones. ↳ Your relationship with money. Harsh truth: → Ignoring your problems does nothing. → It won't make any of them disappear. → It will only magnify them. Time is money, and you're wasting it. Here's why ghosting hurts you: You ignore your money because "you've got your whole life." ↓ The only focus you keep is the car you're driving and the lifestyle you're living. ↓ Years go by and you're 40 with barely any assets besides your home. ↓ All the planning you "should" have done is beginning to stress you out about money. ↓ The stress bleeds over into your career and family life. ↓ Relationships are strained and income takes a hit because of it. ↓ Your job is insecure and your family doesn't even recognize you. OPEN YOUR EYES. You could have prevented this nightmare. → Engaging with your finances is powerful. → Each check-in is a step toward your goals. Want to turn things around? Let's do it: → Book a quarterly meeting with yourself. Step 1: Know your cash flow 1. List all your income. 2. Review your spending. 3. Identify areas that are wasteful. 4. Cut them out and project cash flow. Step 2: Know your net worth 1. List out all assets. 2. List out all liabilities. 3. Plan to build your emergency fund. 4. Pay off any high-interest debt ( > 7%). Step 3: Build your wealth 1. Invest anything else. 2. Automate your investing. 3. Break it up in different accounts. 4. Break it up in different investments. Your finances are not set-it-and-forget-it. → Your financial health directly impacts the quality of your life, just as much as the success of your career does. You should be able to enjoy a night out without financial stress. Stop ghosting your finances. It’s time to get back in touch.

Best way to unlock success with a commission-based income? Treating your personal finances like business finances. AEs and SDRs, steal these 6 tricks to thrive on your commissions: 👇 1. Tracking cash flow: - Understand your expenditures on a monthly basis. - Utilize apps, spreadsheets, or pen and paper to track them. 2. Create a cash flow-based spending plan - Create a cash flow-based system to align income and expenses. - This way you don't overspend or go into any type of debt. 3. Develop a plan to fill the cash flow gaps: This can be done in 2 steps: A. Build a generous surplus: - Start by saving $1,000 as a cushion in a savings account. - Then save 10% of every check until you have 6-12 months of living expenses. B. Diversify your income - Explore multiple ways to create an income to cover fixed costs. - Increase your streams of income to create income security. 4. Use multiple accounts: - Separate accounts for checking, emergency fund, and fixed costs. - Deposit a percentage of each check in the respective account. 5. Reorganize due dates for bills: - Contact lenders to align due dates with income payment dates. - Ensure essential bills, such as mortgage/ rent, are taken care of. 6. Prepay taxes: - Adjust withholding allowances to ensure proper tax withholding. - Use apps like Track to track earnings and estimate quarterly taxes. Crushed Quota? You just crushed financial planning too. __________________________________ I talk about personal finance, mindset, and entrepreneurship. Hit the 🔔 for daily free content

Where does my money go? Something most people say but here's 2 ways to find out for yourself Don't forget to define the what you're making money for while you do this. This is cash flow in a nutshell 𝗢𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟭 - 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗹 (𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿) What are you taking home each month after taxes and investment contributions? Write it down Then what are you spending? Make categories to put expenses under each item for example: Let's say house -Maintenance budget -Mortgage -Utilities -Taxes Do this for all categories Now take your take home pay minus your expenses This is your net cash flow Decide where the rest of this money goes. -Additional spending -Saving -Investing 𝗢𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟮 - 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 Software like Mint will let you link all credit cards and bank accounts and it will combine all income and expenses in one place. Then you need to separate the categories yourself. It takes a little time each month but it's really helpful for understanding your cash flow. 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 - 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿? -If you understand your cash flow you know what you make, spend and what's left -Then make your money work for you. -What are you working so hard for? -Define the purpose then use your money to propel you towards the real goals. Ask questions in the comments and I'll go into more depth in future posts. This is the start to answering all the cash flow questions from last weeks post. Thanks again for all your comments and thoughts! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I am Evan. I have a wife, two kids and a puppy 👨👨👧👦 🐶 I am a Financial Advisor Financial Planning - Guiding you through a simple three step process to prepare for the future while enjoying today. Like this post? Want to see more? Follow then 🔔 Ring it on my Profile Follow #memoryinvesting 🤜 Connect with me #memoryinvestor #memorybank #family #personalfinance #entrepreneurship

📢 Financial anxiety and uncertainty are always present in my work as a financial therapist, but lately, worried questions have been extra loud. In recent workshops, I've found myself coming back to a version of this response: "While spreadsheets are a part of the solution, what we really need are grounded, repeatable, and doable tips." Then, depending on the nature of the question, you can bet that I'm answering with one of these tips: 1. Focus on microdosing your financial habits. What can you do in just 2–3 minutes? 2. Reframe how you view spending. How does your spending reflect the life you're living and building? 3. Use your values as a guide. Your values are your financial north star. 4. Revisit your to-do list. Too many tasks = decision fatigue. Break tasks into four categories: do now, do later, delegate, delete. 5. Curate your financial influences. Unfollow anything that leaves you feeling behind, overwhelmed, or ashamed. These ideas are pulled from five of my most popular blog posts and videos (citing sources that are my own? Ok, NERD! 🤓) 🧠 Microdosing Financial Habits 🌱 37 Financial Self-Care Examples 🧭 How to Set Personal Money Goals So You Can Live Your Best Life Now 🎯 Prioritize Money Goals with this Free Decision-Making Tool ✖️ Why Personal Finance Gurus Are Wrong 💌 Whether you're working with clients who are anxious about money, or you're finding yourself a bit more on edge, make sure to sign up for my newsletter where I share compassionate, real-talk money tips once a week. ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gvmn6XdR #FinancialTherapist #SocialWorker #PersonalFinance #FinancialWellness #Money

True wealth isn't just about money in the bank. It's about something deeper—how rich your life feels, even if you were to lose it all. It's a symphony of smart money management, memorable experiences, and leaving a lasting legacy. And it all begins with mastering Financial Fluency. Think of it as learning a new language: the language of wealth. Educate yourself about financial concepts like budgeting, investing, and saving. Understand how money works and how to make it work for you. Then, take concrete steps to apply this knowledge in your life. Let's say you want to build an emergency fund for those unexpected expenses life throws your way: 👉 Start by creating a budget to track your income and expenses. 👉 Look for areas where you can cut back on spending and allocate those savings towards your emergency fund. 👉 Set a specific savings goal, like having three to six months' worth of living expenses saved up. 👉 Open a separate savings account just for emergencies and set up automatic transfers from your paycheck. By taking these steps, you're not just setting up a financial safety net for yourself. You're also building a habit of disciplined saving that will pay off in the long run. This adds richness to your life by giving you peace of mind and a sense of financial security. It frees you to fully enjoy life's adventures without constantly worrying about money. And by passing on these values and habits, you're creating a legacy that goes beyond dollars and cents.