A movement known as Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) lifestyle is composed of individuals who have committed themselves to a program of extreme savings and investing with the goal of enabling them to retire early and enjoy retirement lifestyle considerably earlier than a typical retirement plan would allow.

The FIRE retirement movement takes direct aim at the conventional retirement age of 65, as well as the industry that has sprung up to encourage people to plan for retirement at an earlier age than that.

Followers of the Financial Independence Retire Early movement expect to be able to quit their jobs and live exclusively off tiny withdrawals from their portfolios decades before they reach the age of 65 by putting the majority of their income into savings.

What methods do people use to do this? To be able to save that much money for investment, people who are on F.I.R.E. are constantly seeking ways to do two things: reduce their spending as low as possible while also finding ways to increase their income.

The main concept is that the greater your income and the fewer your costs, the more quickly you can achieve financial independence.

In spite of our mixed sentiments about the financial independence retire early movement, the one thing that we can fully support is the intensity and drive that these folks have toward achieving their retirement goals. The financial independence retire early movement has a lot to teach us, no matter where we are in our financial journeys.

Stories of people who are able to achieve retirement early.

1. How this millennial saved $1 million by age 30 
2. Meet the Young People Who Are Retiring in Their 30s
3. How to Retire in Your 30s With $1 Million in the Bank

What should we think of the F.I.R.E movement?

• Dream and plan for your retirement now

Since less than half of Americans have tried to figure out their retirement savings needs, the F.I.R.E. movement is a great way to get younger workers thinking about retirement.

1 As if you were blindfolded and attempting to aim at a target at the same time! Consider your ideal retirement and devise a strategy to get there.

• Look for Ways to Keep Your Costs to a Minimum

This group of FIRE devotees takes the time to examine where their money is going. They identify what they want and need, and then cut out any unnecessary spending. For them, a budget is set and they stick to it.

A few dollars saved here and there can have a big impact in the long run. This is exactly what you need to accomplish your goals.

• Look for Ways to Increase Your Earning Potential

It’s impossible to avoid it. Aspiring early retirement necessitates discovering imaginative ways to earn more money.

In some cases, you may be on the route to a six-figure salary. Alternatively, perhaps you’re working on a side project that you hope to grow into a full-time business on the weekends and nights. It could involve working as a pizza delivery driver for a few months or putting money away to buy a rental property.

The more money you have, the easier it will be for you to take a break from the workforce and enjoy an early retirement.

• Prioritize saving and investing

You must save and invest if you wish to retire at a younger age. Regardless of the circumstances, there are no doubts or reservations. That’s why many in the F.I.R.E. movements are so committed to putting away large amounts of money for retirement.

You may not be able to save half of what you’d like to save right now. (For most of us, that’s a lot.) And it’s fine! But we all begin somewhere. After you’ve paid off all your consumer debt and saved up 3–6 months of expenses in a fully funded emergency fund, we recommend that you begin investing 15% of your income towards retirement savings.

The most important thing is to establish a habit of saving and investing each month. As a result of this, time and compound interest work in your favor, rather than against it.

Is it a F.I.R.E movement for everyone?

The first major impediment to joining the F.I.R.E. movement is having a substantial amount of money (and we mean large). No matter how much you cut back on your spending, you’ll need a substantial income—probably in the six-figure range—in order to be able to save enough money to be able to retire before your fortieth birthday.

However, you should not let this deter you from accumulating wealth because everyone can achieve it. No matter what kind of job or salary you have right now, don’t fall for the fallacy that you must have a high-paying job in order to accumulate the riches necessary to live a worry-free life in your retirement. Anyone can become a millionaire; all it takes is a little effort and perseverance.

Don’t play games with credit cards; you’ll end up getting burned

When roughly a third of your income is spent on debt repayment, it’s difficult to save and invest money effectively. A recipe for financial success does not consist of doing things like that. You might be thinking, “But I always pay my credit card bill on time!” You are correct. That might work for a short period of time, but you’re not going to be able to beat the system. The result of a single missed payment or a major emergency that compels you to bite off more than you can chew is that you will find yourself in serious financial difficulty.

Don’t proceed with F.I.R.E just to get away from a job you despise

If you despise your job, you could find yourself pulled to the F.I.R.E. movement. After all, only 31 percent of American workers report that they are actively engaged at their jobs. 5 It’s no surprise that an increasing percentage of young workers are fantasizing about quitting their jobs altogether.

However, there is a more serious problem lurking beneath the surface, and F.I.R.E. will not be able to resolve it. If you despise your job, you don’t need F.I.R.E. to help you. What you actually need is a change of direction in your professional life. That is the point at which your most significant abilities and passions come together. It’s something that even those who support financial independence retire early movement will admit!

I want you to know that F.I.R.E is achieved through aggressive saving, far more than the standard 10–15% typically recommended by financial planners.^[6] Assuming expenses are equal to income minus savings, and neglecting investment returns, observe that:

• At a savings rate of 10%, it takes (1-0.1)/0.1 = 9 years of work to save for 1 year of living expenses.
• At a savings rate of 25%, it takes (1-0.25)/0.25 = 3 years of work to save for 1 year of living expenses.
• At a savings rate of 50%, it takes (1-0.5)/0.5 = 1 year of work to save for 1 year of living expenses.
• At a savings rate of 75%, it takes (1-0.75)/0.75 = 1/3 year = 4 months of work to save for 1 year of living expenses.

Conclusion

If your only goal is to retire early so that you may avoid having to report to work on Monday, you will be quite disappointed in the results. The fact is that life is too short to waste decades or even a single year in a job you despise.I will advise that you look for financial independence group near you or online to understand the 

To be financially buoyant, you have to truthfully assess your asset and commit to live within it. This can only happen when you create and follow a budget.

Stop spending money you don’t have and start living within your financial limits instead. Budgeting is a wise financial decisions that can help to reduce debt, save money, and stretch a paycheck without the need to constantly calculate numbers in your head. Make wise financial decisions and create a family budget as soon as possible by following these simple steps to assess your financial situation and begin saving money right now.

4 things to keep in mind when creating a family budget

1. Recognize your asset and commit to them: To be financially buoyant as a family, you have to truthfully assess your combined asset and commit to live within it.  Your net worth is often determined by the assets you have within your grasp, and your debt-to-income ratio. Asset could simply include physical properties such as houses, land, investment portfolios (stocks, bonds retirement investment), marketable securities, etc. In addition, when talking about your true asset, you have to keep in mind your debt as well. For instance, a member of the family who is just finishing school may have student loan to pay off. Credit cards debt is another factor to keep in mind when truly assessing your asset. Once you know this, it will be easy to create and maintain a budget base on your true net worth and be financially fit, instead of living off a false asset that is not true representation of your worth.
2. Keep your true asset in view when budgeting: Again, do not budget or spend according to the amount of money you have on your credit cards, but spend in line with what you truly have. That is call financial prudency. In order to do this, you will need to have a budget based on your income and stick this budget. Only budget to buy what you need, not what you want.  Also, plan to pay off credit card debt as soon as possible to reduce interest. This will eventually lead to excess cash at your dispenser to spend on what you want. In addition, budgeting for emergence and establishing an emergency fund helps to cover unplanned expenses, such as repairing a flat tire, paying unplanned emergency room visit etc.
3. Be frank with your partner: If the adults in the family aren’t on the same page, family budget won’t function. Make sure all the stakeholders in your family are on the same page when it comes to creating and maintaining family budget before you start crunching the numbers. Respecting someone’s decision for conserving over spending is just as important. In order to come up with a budget that works for everyone in the family, all partners must realize and accept that compromise may be necessary to do so.
4. Aim for financial goal: A long-term objective like saving money appears insurmountable when you’re constantly trying to pay the bills. Setting financial goals is a vital part of securing your family’s future, whether you’re saving for your child’s college fund or putting money down for your own retirement. Family budgeting could help to set a financial goal.

7 Easy steps to create a budget

Create a budget: Sound strange, right? Yes, you have to create a budget.  Tracking your family’s income and expenses is the first step to living on a budget. Everything you have that demonstrates money coming in or going out—everything from your bills to your pay stubs to your bank statements—should be gathered into one place. Manage your money by creating a frugal spending plan.

If you don’t have a monthly budget, you’re missing out on cost-cutting and money-saving chances. Creating a budget today can save you a lot of money in the long run.

Creating a budget helps you to actively look for areas of your spending where you can save morning. This is call short-term ambitions savings. It is possible for you to save money each month by reducing your utility bills, cable bills, subscriptions, and other monthly costs. Do you really need to subscribes to all the online streaming services? Creating a budget helps to identify arears where you are over spending.

Pay off your debt: Despite the fact that being in debt can be intimidating, controlling your debt is simple if you set reasonable goals for yourself and spend within your budget. A debt management strategy can be incorporated into your financial plan to help you pay off your credit cards and mortgage while also reducing your overall debt.

Whether you can pay off all of your debt today or not, you can devise a realistic strategy to work toward paying it off in the future. Because your budget will show you exactly where your money is being wasted through high-interest charges and unnecessary expenses, it will be easier for you to determine where your money is genuinely needed.

Don’t pay more than you should, reduce your taxes: When planning your budget, don’t forget about the relevance of taxes. It is possible to free up funds for other purposes by lowering the amount you pay to the government. Furthermore, setting money aside in tax-advantaged accounts will assure that you’ll have enough money to cover future needs such as health care, college, and a comfortable retirement lifestyle.

Choose the appropriate filing status, research current tax rules on claiming dependents, claim the Child Tax Credit, and take advantage of child care and dependent care expenses are just a few of the tax rules you should be aware of every year when it comes time to file your tax return. The governments are already making a lot of money off you, do not over pay them. 

Get prepared for financial emergencies plan: The stress of a financial crisis may put a burden on even the wealthiest of families, according to some experts. Establishing an emergency fund will assist you in building up your savings to cover unanticipated expenses.

If something is to happen to you or your spouse, life insurance and a last will and testament can help to protect your family from financial ruin. The expenditures of putting them in place are typically outweighed by the benefits and peace of mind that they provide. Family budging should always include a savings towards emergencies.

Spending on food should be kept under control: With a well-thought-out food budget, you can reduce the costs of feeding your family. Preparing a shopping list of your family’s favorite dishes ahead of time will help you save money on groceries. You’ll always know what you need and will be able to recognize a good deal on your essentials. This allows you to maintain your kitchen pantry well-stocked without having to spend full price for everything.

Consider alternatives to shopping at the grocery store in order to save even more money. Children’s meal bargains at restaurants are other cost-effective solutions that allow you to take a break from cooking without depleting your financial account. This can only happen when you budget.

Budget for the Trip: Many families believe that taking a vacation is a hefty financial drain. It’s possible to make your fantasy vacation a reality if you’re creative with your money. In order to save money on a vacation, you need to take a few extra steps.

A staycation is a great option if you can’t afford to take your family on a vacation, but you still want them to have a good time while staying close to home.

Review your plan frequently: After completing a budget, a family should use it as a guide for how to spend their money in the future. In order to be effective, it must be checked periodically to ensure that actual household spending is in line with what is budgeted. The budget can be changed as the needs and priorities of the family change.

It’s a good idea for couples to meet regularly to assess their family’s finances and plan for the next month’s costs. Having a budget review and a date night is an excellent approach to make this process less tedious. All partners are on the same team and must work together to achieve financial goals, no matter how you structure your check-ins.

As a college student, what are the Simple ways to save money as college student? College is always a memorable time to learn how to manage your finances, save more money and build good habits for financial success for the rest of your life. By having great knowledge of your spending and saving habits, you can start getting bigger goals in your life, such as travelling around the world, paying off student loan, and saving money for future milestones like moving to a new city after college, buying your own house or owning a car, etc.

Whether you are a student in finance, or in engineering, financial management  and saving money is a valuable skill to acquire early in life. This will help you to start making smart choices about your money now in order to set up a solid financial foundation for the future.

Let’s get saving now!

Create a budget
Yes, the first important step is to create a budget for you living expenses in college. Even if your parents are paying for everything or you are earning money on your own, you still need to create a budget for your anticipated expenses and then stick to it. How would you learn and practice financial management without your own budget plan? Budgeting is just simply making plans for the things you need base on the money you have at hand. 
As long as your essentials are covered—rent or room and board, food, tuition, books, supplies, fun things- you can rest easily knowing all your priorities are covered. If you do not have a scholarship, financial support from parents or family member, you might not have free cash at hand. Even if you have some financial support, you might still not have enough cash at your disposal. Ideal thing will be to get a part-time or freelance job to assist support you. But by setting realistic limits on your spending categories and then sticking to them, you’re setting yourself up for good spending habits.

Make extra money by selling/buying used textbooks
Prices for certain new textbooks have reached such huge levels that many students find it hard to deal with it. Actually, college fees and expenses are not easy to afford, especially with people who do not have good financial backbone. Making money by selling your last semester textbooks and buying fairly used once can be a prudent way to save money. E-commerce platforms such as Amazon, ebay or E-sites are some great sites to buy and sell used books. Another money-saving tactic would be using eBook offerings from your school or free download online channels. Even if you plan on buying new textbooks, you could save more than 50% off if you go for paperback international edition textbook compared to hardback US edition. In addition, books from university bookstore are often overpriced and effective money management will be to check multiple online stores for better deals. Shopping wisely and selling used books are ways to make some bucks as college student.  

Track your expenses
The most essential and easiest way to practice your finance management skill is to track where your money is going in and out. Regularly, take a look at what you’ve been spending your money on and see where you can make cuts, reduce or spend more effectively. You might not realize how much your small, daily purchases add up to until you take a look at your income and expenses. If you have not checked it frequently, it may be a huge amount and over your expectation at the end of the month. Tracking expenses by date is also key. Using an app on your phone, or even on paper, to determine if your expenses matches your income or require fine-tuning. Another reason to check on your expenses-you can catch unusual charges to your account early and contact your bank to reverse them.

Save Money
Saving money might not seems as a wise decision for college student that is barely surviving, but it is a great financial management that could be beneficial when you start making high 5 figures after college. Finding a way to save money during this period will help keep you from overspending and you’ll ideally be able to put some aside for future expenses. You will have to make money before you can save money, so, getting a summer job or part-time job during the semester could increase your income.  Additionally, saving will also help you cover unexpected expenses, medical bills or emergency issues from your family. If you are an undergraduate, put on hold to buy a new car, new house or any big assets. Consider choosing more affordable college housing and transportation options to help save cash as much as you can.

Have fun and spend less

College life doesn’t last forever, so enjoy each moment as much as you can. However, what else is there to do in life that doesn’t cost money? Well, many students ask that same question and they surely need to find other ways to have fun without that is cost effective. If you have the money, no problem parting every night, but if you don’t you will need to be creative. Hang out with your friends at reasonable coffee shops, go to affordable restaurant, watch a movie at affordable cinemas or rent a movie and enjoy a little entertainment free of charge. There’s a good chance you can find a few friends who have the same goals as you and are ready on-board with saving some cash.

Eat home made food
Cooking at home doesn’t mean you can never eat out. But if grabbing coffee and breakfast wrap, lunch and a quick swinging by a fast food restaurant for dinner  become a daily habit, try and cut back a bit. By making those habits, you can even enjoy those types of foods at home with cheaper cost, more hygiene and health.
Cooking at home can be fun and even a great social activity to engage with your family members. By this way, cooking at home is a great habit to lose weight, get good body curves and foster you to be a good cook in your family life.

Use Credit Card wisely
Considering a credit card? Credit card companies work hard to focus on college students to get them to sign up for a card while they’re still in school because they know it’s popular for students to run up balances quickly before they really understand all the ins and out of a credit card. While it is a good way to build credit history, if not handle carefully, credit card could land you in a perpetual debt, especially when you do not know how to manage your finances. One thing to consider while  choosing a credit card as a college student is to pick card that doesn’t have annual fee, low interest rate and low credit limit. Also, as much as possible, pay the balance in full each month before the due date. This will help you to avoid late fees and interest, which will quickly eat into your budget.  

Earn some extra cash
Getting a part-time or freelance job while you are in college not only helps you earn some cash but also build your career skills in the future. Try to work as much as you can within your health limit and without hindering your studies at college. There are a variety of ways for you to earn money such as online marketing, content writer, online business which can assist you to work from home but still earn good profit in the hustle and bustle day of Covid pandemic. 

Start investing now
Well, you do not need to win a jackpot before you start thinking on investing. When you start investing even as little as $50 a month will go a long way. You can invest in penny stocks, crypto currencies etc.

Use online coupons/ discounts
Covid-19 pandemic makes people change their lifestyle and also the way they shop for their purchases. Instead of going to crowded areas such as supermarkets, traditional markets, malls,…they chose online stores to buy their daily stuff and foods. Many businesses offer different deals online than they would if you were to purchase in-store. There are also plenty of online applications that can help alert you to promotional codes a website may offer. Of course, this way is really helpful for college students to save costs and help them get a bit of savings for other priorities.

I hope you can explore some of the tips discuss and see which one will work best for you situation.

If you are getting lost on how to manage your monthly salary in order to spend well and also get good savings, the 50/30/20 budget rule can really help. The 50-20-30 (or 50-30-20) budget rule is an intuitive and simple plan to help people reach your financial goals well and stably. So let’s discover what is 50/30/20 budget rule and how it can foster you to get your goal in financial freedom. 

What is the 50/30/20 budget rule?

The 50/30/20 budgeting rule–also referred to as the 50/20/30 budgeting rule–divides after-tax income into three different buckets:

• Needs (50%)
• Wants (30%)
• Savings (20%)

The 50/30/20 rule was popularized by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (a Harvard law professor and her daughter, Amelia Warren Tyagi. This rule was mentioned in the book All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan. It was designed as a great methodology for all types of families to plan their spending in order to be ready for an unforeseen future and any unexpected circumstances.

Let’s jump into each rule right now!

Needs (50%)

Needs are those amounts that you absolutely must pay and are the things necessary for our survival. They include:

• Rent or mortgage 
• Car, groceries
• Utilities, such as electricity, water, and sewer
• Health care, insurance 
• Schooling fee, dept (if any)

Wants (30%) 

Wants are what you desire to have but don’t actually need to survive. They might include:

• Hobbies
• Vacations
• Dining out: fast food or luxury restaurants, Starbuck,…
• Entertainment: movie, karaoke, tickets to sport events 
• Impulse items 
• Digital and streaming services like Netflix and Hulu

Savings (20%) 

Finally, try to allocate 20% of your net income to savings and investments. They might include:

• All savings: retirement contributions, saving for a house, rainy-day funds,…
• Investment: learning for yourself or your children, business,…

How does the 50/30/20 budget rule work?

Many people often wonder why they can earn quite good money but they cannot save much. The 50/30/20 budget rule is a great way to help you raise awareness of your financial habits, limit overspending and under-saving. By trying to spend less on the things that don’t matter that much to you, you can save more for the things that do.

Let’s figure out on how it works:

1. Calculate your monthly income: Total all how much you receive in your bank account each month. Remember to add in the withheld from your workplace retirement plan or deduct the estimated taxes, then it results in your real final income amount. 
2. Calculate a spending limit amount for each category: Multiply your real final income amount by 0.50 (for needs), 0.30 (for wants), and 0.20 (for savings) to see how much you should ideally spend in each category. Then you get the specific final amounts.
3. Plan your budget around these numbers: Think of these three categories as limits that you can fill with monthly expenses. List and check if your monthly expenses are being under or over the category each falls into. After all things are clear, you will have useful information to proceed with next steps.  
4. Follow your right budget direction: After having a budget planned, keep following it and tracking your expenses each month, and make adjustments where needed, in order to stick to your spending goal. 

Dos and Don’ts….

Defer unnecessary purchase and Don’t defer credit card payment. Have you ever purchase something you don’t really need or even want but just ended up buying it anyways because it feels like the best deals at the time and if you don’t buy it, you will be missing out of the greatest deal of your life? Well, if your answer is yes, then you are not alone. Before I got myself and spending habit under control, the sight of percent off coupon in my mail box or a 40% off coupon in my email from my favorite store basically means I have to just go in there to see what they have in store and hopefully find something that I might eventually need in the nearest feature. No matter how tired I was, I always ended up in the store to pick up something because I can’t just stand the chances of not utilizing the couple. Well, the advertising industries knows very well how to play with our wants and manipulate us into thinking that we are getting a discount off an item. The bitter truth is that, the have not spend a lot of money on an item all just to give it to you free of charge or to even sell it at a price where they are not making any profit off you. We end up buying what we don’t really need at the moment. The saddest part of this is actually placing this purchase on a credit card. Imagine this for a moment… You bought something you don’t need, using the money you didn’t have and never getting to use this item. How pathetic is that? The simplest way to stay out of debt is to Defer purchasing things you don’t need. You have all the power within you to DO this. Don’t feel compel that you need to buy something you don’t need right away, especially when you don’t have the money. 

The “Don’ts” of staying off debt is to not defer payment of credit card, car loan or whatever loan you may have. This is because deferring payment only lead to penalty and higher interest. The faster you pay off your debt, the faster you become debt free. Its as simple as that.

Earn more money. Yes, in order to be debt free, you need to make more money to pay off your debt and to continue to live a debt free life. Losing a job or temporarily stopping making money (due to unexpected reasons) is not certainly a great option if you want to be debt free. In order to pay off you debt on time, you may want to take additional job, or temporary work for more hours pending the time you are off debt. Even in your current job position, do you need additional certification, training or skills that could lead to promotion and pay rise? Sometimes the idea thing to do may be to change job/company because most people that change job often see a salary increase compared to counterpart that remains with the company. Don’t feel guilty if you have to move from one organization to another because you wanted to make more money. Remember, whatever you take home is your sole benefit. So, put in your effort where you get the most reward.

Budgeting. More than 56% of Americans do not use budget to manage their money, and even a larger percentage don’t know how much they spend in relation to how much they earn. No wonder a lot of people live paycheck to paycheck because they do not really understand that budgeting is one of the simplest ways to track their spending habit, reach their financial goals and become debt free. Budgeting is about taking control and staying in the driver seat of your financial goals. If you got to be debt free, you’ve got to know how to budget and stay on budget. Without budget, how can you know where your money goes and what category you spend your money mostly on? How can you balance all expenses during the month as well as your savings without budgeting? Budgeting is all about mapping out what the needs are and what you plan on spending on it and also outlining your actual expenses and showing what they cost at the end of the cycle. This is a great way to show you which categories you are overspending, which ones you can spend more or how much you can be saving. By constantly sticking to your planned budget, you might be able to spend less on entertainment, impulse items or other categories, which helps you avoid unexpected debt or pay off current debt. For more resources on budgeting.

Total control of your finances. In order to be completely debt free, you have to take full control of your finances and you have to monitor what comes in and what goes out. The “dos and don’ts”, “earning more” and budgeting” I talked about are ways to take full control of your finances. Another way is to be actively mindful of what you purchase and monitor your credit card usage. It is extremely dangerous if your credit card has been used without any purpose. People rarely check their credit card statement until it is due. Additionally, checking your card balances weekly can also alert you to any unexpected issues. If you catch something suspicious early on, it may be easier to resolve with the bank. Another benefit of checking your credit card balance is to help you make payment on time and avoid any late payment penalty. 

Simple Dos and Don’ts to be debt free...

 …Defer unnecessary purchase but Don’t defer your loan payment

…Earn more money and Don’t spend all

…Budgeting and Don’t go off you spending limit

…Take total control of your finances and Don’t make any unwise decision.

Grocery, yes, everyone needs to eat, drink and enjoy the best food which is also human’s favorite. However, spending money on groceries is also a big question, especially the family with lots of members. People use to push groceries to the bottom of the list of expenses and rarely think that it makes a critical impact to the family’s daily cost. We are afraid that our family is not surely fed enough, then we overspend in a bad way. Additionally, it causes a huge stress for people who manage family finance with every single dollar. 

So, the article today is going to help you how a family financial manager can calculate the grocery budget but still bringing our family enough good food and reach our money goals. 

How much should it be in the grocery budget?

People often have no idea how much they’re spending on groceries

and try to aim for a ridiculously low number to spend when they try and cut

this expense. It is not an effective way. 

Here’s a simple exercise that will show you exactly what you have been spending. 

✤ Print out the last three months of your bank statement. Yes, it is three months. 

✤ Choose your favorite couples of color highlighters. 

✤ Go through and color all the grocery store purchases one color.

✤ Highlight any restaurants, GrabEats, DoorDash, food delivery etc as another color.

✤ Any splurges for snacks at the gas station, gets marked with a third color.

(If you have any other ways you buy groceries, continue the process of highlighting what you have spent with another color)

✤ Total up each color/category

✤ Divide the total by 3.

✤ Put this amount into your budget as a line item for each category (groceries, eating out/delivery, snack splurges)

Remember, this is the starting amount to put into your budget. At this point I want you to keep the three categories separate (groceries, eating out/delivery, snack splurges) so we can address each one and make necessary changes. 

So now we’re ready to tackle the big question, how much should I spend to provide food for my family?

How to determine how much you should spend for your family

In order to answer that question, let’s consider a few factors below: 

✤ How many people are there in your family? And who they are? (As it may vary because of ages, males, females – because a teenage boy will eat a whole lot more than the elder)

✤ Do you want organic food, vegan or a special diet food? 

✤ How often do we want to eat out/have food delivered?

✤ Your income and financial goals in the short term and long term

✤ Your family value regarding the others (if your family has to) 

As above questions, you see that it depends drastically how your family members want to be, their food lifestyle, their aging, your income, final goals and how your family wants to be in other’s eyes (if any). 

Then, I figured out that nutrition is one of the factors we can adjust which is either good for your health and also critical to reduce your grocery budget. Reduce as much as possible food that entertains you such as fast food, food by delivery, food in the luxury restaurants. Replace this food lifestyle with a healthy lifestyle which you can cook by yourself at home. 

In this process, I made a choice to spend more on groceries and buy ingredients to make most everything from scratch. Personally, I want to feed

my family food that nourishes them, helps them grow, and stays healthy.

See while I was getting great deals on boxed/packaged items that were premade, my grocery budget was too low to begin with. Yes, while you buy things in bulk with boxes or packages, you may get huge deals. 

There’s no judgement on how you feed your family… but let’s take time to consider and have your own answer. 

As mentioned in the last article, a growth mindset is genuinely essential in society today. People should have motivation, inspiration and strength to improve and enhance themselves every single day. If you have not updated yourselves day by day, you will be left behind and gone backward. However, if you are a progressive person but you feel lost and have not figured out a way to change your situation, I hope the article below will help you get over it and find your own value. 

Change your spending behavior 

Any bad behaviors or habits always lead to unexpected consequences. If you are a natural spender, you probably have several habits to break in order to live on less than you make. You are a shopping-aholic due to your mother’s habit. You don’t want to be left behind your friends when any new brand products are launched. Or it is simply that you are a type of rebellion. You suffer an incident in life and it is hard for you to come over, then spending money is just a way for you to release stress.

Regardless of any reason, if you have a growth mindset you will believe it is definitely possible to stop that behavior right now. You need to start taking care of yourself when you can earn money instead of being given a monthly expense cost by your mom. You have a part-time job when you are a student in a university and you should pay your annual school fee. You can adopt the belief that having savings for an emergency and watching your investment account grow is a worthwhile endeavor.

Practice the negotiation skills 

For most people, a next step after learning how to budget and manage their money well, is earning more money. One way to earn more money is to negotiate your salary, and potentially other benefits, with your employer. This case is applied if you are in the relationship between employers and employees. I have lots of my friends who don’t want to be involved in arguments or sensitive discussions about money. They feel uncomfortable fighting for the benefit of an increased salary. But what? Their salary is still stable because the employer prioritizes other employees who raised their voice for benefits. The more willing you are to experience discomfort, the bigger the opportunity for personal growth and reward.

Learn how to invest in something

Most of the rich people always have their own business and invest in something that brings them profit and lessons on the aggressive market. That is why many business men or women always have their own investment in various areas such as start-up, real estate, stocks, resorts, restaurants, hotels,…

However, we are just normal persons that have not had enough money, conditions or inheritance from our parents, so our investment can be applicable with our current conditions. Getting a bachelor degree, proceed to the next level with a master degree. Learning a new language or having a left-hand job with additional income. Start-up a business sticking with your passion which can be opening an online food store or bakery. Spend a bit of money learning how to invest in stocks, coins, security,…Yeah, lots of ideas for your investment that you feel free to contribute. The critical thing is whether you dare to do that as there is a quote like “Have a liver to get rich”.

Turn it into your real business 

If your plan is only on paper without turning it into reality, it’s meaningless. Or if you just pursue a 9-6 job a day, you cannot earn more than your monthly salary, apart from you need to have a part-time job or get some freelancer jobs, other than that, the situation cannot be changed. 

Starting a business has a huge learning curve. You have to be willing to find what you can offer that the market will purchase. You have to be very active and jump into the race. How do you look for and persuade potential clients to overcome their own fears and do business with you? Learning things you have no interest in like working with a bunch of paperwork, law, government stuff, company stamps, being active on social media to engage customers,…a ton of things you have to do right away. A growth mindset is absolutely critical in dealing with technical issues and employee problems and the thousands of other unanticipated challenges.

Choose one risky field to invest

Real estate, stock, coins or forex are one of the hottest areas on the market that lots of investors jump into. A growth mindset in this arena is vital to success. Yes, a growth mindset, not a risky mindset. There are lots of amateur traders or investors on the market without learning professional knowledge but just want to test their luck. They put too much money without consideration and throw it away in just a short time, or even a day. 

A growth mindset will lead you in building knowledge about these majors. You’ll read the most popular and useful books. You may need to consult respective advisors or join a class. You may even reach out to local groups. Being an investor with a growth mindset, you’ll surely eliminate amateur’s people, let’s be smarter investors. 

What is the fixed mindset? 

If you have a fixed mindset, you believe what you are is determined early in life. You believe who you are is predetermined and unchangeable. You live with the belief that your life is arranged and you cannot do anything to make it better. You live in peace without taking risks. You accept your earned low salary without making any effort to improve it.

People with a fixed mindset believe in absolutes like:

• I want to change my job to have a better salary, but I am afraid of taking risks. I don’t want to change my current peaceful working environment. 
• I cannot earn more money. 
• I am afraid of people and don’t want to communicate with them, how can I talk and discuss with them about the business? 
• I cannot quit my 9-6 job to do my freelancer job, it’s risky. 
• My parents didn’t earn good money when they were young, so do I. 

What are silly questions that people with a fixed mindset can have? These types of beliefs stop you in your tracks and prevent you doing the great things in the world. They prevent you from taking that next step. You are a person who expects and worse, accepts failure as a default. 

What is the growth mindset?

Firstly, ask yourself these questions:

• Do you believe that you are either born with a particular talent or not?
• Do you have difficulty taking feedback?
• Do you avoid new challenges to earn more money?
• Don’t you prefer changing your working environment even if it’s not in good condition? 
• Are you afraid of making mistakes?
• Do you prefer doing things the same way they have always been done?

If your major questions are NO, you are the person with a growth mindset. 

A person with a growth mindset is willing to improve and learn new things. They are open to the possibility of becoming improved and better versions of themselves, they are not resigned to the life they currently have. They look for opportunities to enhance and better themselves.

For example: Susan is a great example of a growth mindset person. She is an entrepreneur and she is in the process of planning a new business. Susan was confident in her ability to learn anything. Initially, she knew little about investing and she had to get the consultation from many people. She read voraciously, listened to podcasts, sought out mentors, and hired a coach. At times she struggled but she always believed change was possible. Her wealth building advanced quickly.

So, I hope that you have now understood clearly how the differences are between the fixed and growth mindset. I am going to show you 5 ways to build wealth with a growth mindset in the next article. See you there! 

For couples, budgeting can be a touchy and sensitive topic, but you can be successful at it and have fun while you are at it, too. So what are the secrets for couples to deal with that? Let’s get started right now! 

• Start a joint budget 

The easiest setup is besides having each individual account where both partners maintain their own budget but then having a joint account that both fund to pay shared expenses. In some countries, one of people either a husband or a wife, will be in charge of managing joint expenses. On the other hand, couples will share a shared expense where they will contribute their respective amount and spend for both needs. 

A joint account requires transparency, mutual trust and shows a shared commitment toward a common goal. It’s yours together now, both the pleasure and the responsibility. 

• How about if one makes more 

It is certainly true that you and your partner cannot earn the same salaries, and those amounts might vary broadly. So is it fair in that case to split the mortgage 50-50? No. “Fair doesn’t necessarily mean equal,” And because you are partners, you are spouses, you are couples, you cannot calculate every single coin of each other, right? 

So, how do you guys deal with the situation where both do not earn the same salary? Make a list of all your combined expenses: housing, taxes, insurance, utilities. If you are independent and you accept the fact that you guys will contribute based on the respective percentage. Let’s say If you make $70,000 and your partner makes $30,000, then you should pay 70 percent of that total shared expenses and your partner 30 percent. I thought it’s acceptable. 

Things may change day by day and you guys can have a discussion to make all things balanced. Be ready to adapt to changes and keep some money in reserve in your personal accounts to cover any unexpected overages.

• Who pays for what

When you guys do not decide what percentage each of you can contribute, choosing who pays for what is also another good way. This can be applied in the situation when each of you has your own debt. She has her student loan while he has his business debt. If your partner has a lot of debt, maybe you offer to help her out with the payments so she can set herself free sooner, thus creating your shared goal. Or maybe you take on a larger percentage of the household expenses, thus freeing her to tackle her debt payments.

• Saving for your both future 

You are spouses, there is no doubt that you guys need to have your joint savings plan. Your savings plan should be the result of a joint decision based on your long-term and short-term goals. Make sure your partner not only knows about these plans, but is on board with them and ready to make it happen. When you’re both saving toward the same goal, you will get there faster with better quality. 

Just imagine that you plan to have a vacation next year which can be considered a short time goal. However, your partner wants to focus on working and saving and the vacation should be made in the next 2-3 years. How do you deal with that? It is important to have the same goal and you both are on the same page. Otherwise, one of you should sacrifice and prioritize for others needs first. 

• How to invest in both yourselves?

How about if you are the type of person who wants to take risk and invest in the business, but your partner tends to keep his money in a low-risk, low-interest-bearing savings account. It is time to find an investment or finance advisor or you guys need to put the Pros & Cons between both plans and consider the potential outcome, risks and losses. 

Whether you find outside help or not, you should both be aware of where your money is invested, how well those investments have done and have a shared plan for retirement. You have a  dream of retiring at 40 but your spouse has been planning his retirement strategy on working long beyond that or it’s just simply that he loves working instead of retiring and travelling around the world?

So, let’s explore those 5 questions! 

1. Do you really need it or are you just buying it due to other silly reasons? 

Sale is one of the big reasons for you to buy things even you don’t need it right now. You have a bunch of clothes in your closet for your office outfit that you just wear 1-2 times. However, a black dress is on a big sale and you just want to own it. If you don’t buy it, are there any big issues that have happened? Do you still have clothes to go to work? Can you save money for other matters? So, ask yourself this question lots of time first whenever you really love buying anything? It can be useful to prevent yourself from buying any silly things on time and save your money considerably. 

2. Can you get a cheaper one with the same values? 

It’s surely possible. Fortunately, I have a good habit that whenever I want to buy anything, I used to make a comparison everywhere to get the best deal. From a supermarket, a convenience store or you can get it cheaper by buying online. That is a reason why you need to explore the items on all ecommerce platforms to choose the best price. Even all providers or ecommerce platforms have lots of discounted rates for you to apply. Don’t be in a hurry, look around and you can save lots of money. 

3. Can you be able to spend it right now? 

Many people are always on the rat race, they want to be on other levels, they don’t want to leave behind their friends even if they cannot afford it. A new brand car is launched and they want to update the latest one. Is it necessary or are you just expressing yourself? If you need to go into more debt in order to buy the item, it might be time to let it go and work on saving up for it. If you really want the item, you’ll be happy to wait for it.

4. Is it an impulse purchase? 

Sometimes, we feel bad or tired, we allow ourselves to enjoy the impulse buy to come over that feeling. Is it quite good, bad or acceptable? In my opinion, if its value is not really expensive, it is acceptable to pamper yourself. However, it should not be often, especially, if the value is super high. Rather than just buying something when you’re feeling bad, think before you spend and be sure to sleep on it for a few days. Alternatively you can add it to the calendar 30 days from now, and if you still want the item after 30 days then go for it. It will not be too late. 

5. Get it for free, why not? 

It is certainly that you cannot always get anything for free, but let’s try asking around or from your social media and how lucky you are if you can get items for free. That can be your friends’ baby crib, breast pump or toys that kids are over to play with. There are lots of websites where you can find people to trade or swap items with you or who give away items for free. If all else fails, check out Facebook groups in your area for selling items or ask a friend or family member if they are looking to offload some items.