You know what it is. That's right. It's time to talk money with your money
nerd and financial coach. Now tighten those purse strings
and open those ears. It's the money talk with Tiff
podcast.
Hey, everyone, and welcome to another episode of Tiffany's Take, where
I answer your money questions right here on the podcast. So if you'd like your
question answered, go to
www.moneytalkwitht.com
askTiffany, and I'll be more than happy to answer. So for today's
episode, I have a question from a listener, and it says, hi,
Tiffany. With the current economic uncertainties, I'm finding it challenging
to stick to my budget while also trying to save for emergencies and
invest for the future. What are some practical strategies I can use
to balance these financial goals without feeling
overwhelmed? Now, you might be thinking, shoot,
that sound like me. Sounds like a lot of people right now,
honestly, even myself. Like, I'm like,
expenses are so high. Trying to get your
savings up, trying to invest for your future self, so much going
on. How can we tackle all of these things? How can we
do. And instead of. Or so, that's what I wanted to talk to you about
today. So, first and foremost, let's hop right in.
Prioritize your financial goals. So if you are listening
and you're a client, if you've ever worked with me, you know that we start
with goals first. Like, that is the first thing we talk about,
because we have to figure out what's important to us and where
we're going. So always, always, always start
by listing your financial goals. Is it savings? Is it emergency fund? Is it
investments? Is it trying to survive? Is it paying off debt?
Whatever it is, list them according to urgency
and importance. For instance, if building an emergency
fund might take precedence over other investments in
unpredictable times. So you want to make sure that when you're
listing out your financial goals, you're listing them out in order
for most important to least important. And that's usually what I do
with my clients. We do our top three. And, you know, it doesn't
matter if it's short, medium, or long term for now, because
you can always dial it in later. So just start writing
down your financial goals. Get a notebook or get a word
document, and just start jotting it down. Then you can start
moving them around to prioritize. So once you have that, then you have
a clear direction. Okay, well, for me, paying off debt is
more important than investing for the future. Cool.
Or maybe you're like, well, I really don't have any savings. So savings is more
important for me right now than paying off debt. That's cool too. There's
really no right or wrong answer or right or wrong way to do this,
but just make sure that you get it down and I'll make sure I'll put
some resources in the show notes where I talked about goals. I did a whole
goal series, I think it was earlier this year or last year,
but I'll make sure I'll link to that in the show notes next. Make sure
you create a flexible budget. And honestly, all budgets are
flexible. And that's one thing that I tell my clients as well. I'm like,
even though we jot this stuff down, we make a budget. It's
all movable. Everything in the budget is changeable,
so make sure you go in and change it if things arise.
But still, you want to start with your essentials first,
such as your housing, your utilities, groceries, etcetera. The things that you need
to live, and then work your way down from there. So the
budget spreadsheet that I have, I'll make sure I put a link in the show
notes for that as well. It actually takes
you from most important to least important for
you. So all you have to do is go through and put in the numbers
of how much you actually spend on these things, but it's already
allocated for that. Then you want to make sure
that if savings or investments is important to
you, treat them as a non negotiable. Like
for instance, with me, I have a certain amount that goes into my
investment account every month on autopilot because that's something
that's important to me. Now, it may not be a ton of money, it's just
a little bit matter of fact. I'll be real with y'all, it's dollar 25,
but it's something that goes towards it every single month
off the top. And I don't have to do any extra to do that because
I want to make sure I'm putting something in while I'm working on these other
goals. So treat it as a non negotiable. My grandpa,
my late grandpa always said, pay yourself first
and putting in investments and doing savings and all that stuff,
that is paying yourself first. So I definitely live by
that. Another thing you can consider is maybe the
50 30 20 budget. So 50% for needs, 30% for
wants, and 20% for savings and debt repayment. I go
into that in my budgeting blog post as well. I'll make sure I'll link to
that, but you can adjust these percentages to better suit your current
financial situation or what's important to you. Maybe you're like,
okay, I need 60 for needs, 20 for
wants, and 20 for savings. That's perfectly okay.
Mind you, like I said, there's no right or wrong. And don't feel
pressured by all these quote unquote financial gurus, even me. If
you consider me a financial guru to
stipulate how your life works, you make these plans
how you want to make them, okay? Number three, automate your
savings and investments. I kind of already touched on this in the previous one.
Use automation to your advantage. Set up automatic transfers to your savings
and investment accounts so that way you ensure consistent contributions
without the temptation to spend. Take it right off the top and then you don't
even have to worry about it. For utilize financial tools and
apps I use a lot of financial tools and
apps, and I'll link to some of my favorites in the show notes as
well. But explore budgeting apps like Mint or Ynab or
every dollar, and that can help you track your spending and adjust
the budget in real time. Personally, I love ynab. I'll make sure I
put my affiliate link in the show notes if you all want to check it
out. That has been my go to
budgeting tool for like two or three years now, and
I love it. Also, you can look at investment platforms like
Acorns, so that allow you to invest spare change from
daily purchases, making it easier to grow your investment portfolio.
I have a few clients that do like those
incremental savings or incremental investing
options. And you look, after a while you're like,
oh shoot, I got $500, or oh shoot, I got $1,000. It
really adds up over time. So if you feel like you're the type
of person where you're like, well, Tiffany, I
can't just do this on my own. I need something to do it for me.
Then check out platforms like that that can help you out.
Use technology to your advantage, y'all. I know I do.
All right, so number five, stay informed and educated. So
keep abreast of economic trends and financial news. This is stuff that
I was thinking about bringing back my finance Friday live. So
that way you all can be abreast of what
economic developments or things are going on to help you
make informed decisions and adjust your strategies as you go.
Because depending on what the situation is like, for instance, not too long
ago, the Fed just decreased
the Fed funds rate by 50 basis points, which is
0.50%. I'll have links to me
explaining all of these concepts I just said, so that way you
can check that out. If what I just said sounds like
gibberish, just check out the show notes. I'll make sure I have some links there
for some resources on going into depth on what those things mean.
But for the purposes of this episode, with that
decrease, that makes savings
a little less attractive because it'll affect the
savings interest rates, but it may make
borrowing more attractive because now interest rates are going to go down
some. So that's why I said, thinking about the whole
economy can really help you. And staying abreast of what's going on
can help you adjust your strategies as you go. Six,
focus on building an emergency fund. So the goal, of course, is to
save three to six months worth of living expenses at the minimum.
But I know it's hard for people, so at least try to get
to 1000 and then you can work your way up from there. I always tell
people, when you're doing your goals, do small goals. That way
you're able to hit it and then go on to the next right. So
if your goal is to save three months, maybe save 1000 for
now, then 2000, then 3000, and the next thing you know,
you'll be like, oh shoot, I'm already at three months. So,
you know, if building an emergency fund is important to you,
then make sure you do that. Now that acts as a financial cushion, so
it provides you peace of mind and stability during unexpected events.
I remember a little bit ago, people were like, why would you put money in
a savings account when you can invest it and get more return? Because of that
peace of mind. That's why. Because with investment
accounts, you know, it does take you a few days or whatever to get your
money. You have to, if you fully invested in stocks and stuff,
you have to sell those stocks. You have to wait till they clear. Then you
can pull your money out with an emergency fund is right there when you
need it. And so that's why I tell people have
investments, but also have that savings just sitting there too. You need
it now. How much you put in that savings is completely up
to you. Some people are like, I'm cool with one
month of emergency fund and I want to invest the rest. That's
fine. Like I said, your journey is your journey. So
even if a financial guru tells you one thing, it doesn't matter.
You have to control what you do with your money.
Number seven, diversify investments. So diversification
is key. Spread your investments across different asset classes to mitigate
that risk. And increase the potential for returns. So, for
instance, some people might have real estate, or
they might invest in real estate on the stock market because you don't
actually have to have physical real estate to invest in real estate. That's another topic
for another day. Anywho, some people may have real estate, some people may
have bonds. Some people may have stocks. Some people may have cds. Some people
may have high yield savings account. Whatever the case may be,
just make sure that you diversify so you have different buckets you can pull from
if the time arises that you need it. Number eight.
Most importantly, stay motivated and avoid being overwhelmed.
So break down your financial goals, like I said, into small manageable
tasks, smaller manageable tasks. And celebrate those small
victories to stay motivated. When I get on a call with my
clients, we always do an update. And if I hear
any small victory, it could be something as simple as, oh,
I looked at my budget before I went to the store
today. Let's celebrate. Let's take a moment and let's celebrate that,
because that's important. It's important to keep you motivated. And
we all know how positive reinforcement really
dictates our behavior. So make sure you keep yourself
positive and avoid that overwhelm. Also,
y'all know me. I'm very woo woo. Practice mindfulness and stress
relief techniques to prevent financial anxiety from overwhelming
you. I love practicing mindfulness. I
love, you know, reading the Bible, looking at
quotes, listening to calming music. So
many things that I do to make sure that I keep my stress levels
low and I'm able to reduce
that anxiety. And number nine, last but not least, seek professional
guidance. You know, if you're feeling uncertain, consider consulting with
someone like me, a financial counselor, and we can offer
personalized advice and help you navigate complex financial decisions.
I like to tell people, look, I've seen some of everything. If
you think you have a lot of debt, I've probably seen somebody with more. If
you think you don't have any savings, I've probably seen somebody with less. So
don't feel bad for reaching out. I can
help you. And everything stays confidential so you don't have to worry
about me telling people your business.
Finances are a very intimate topic for a lot of
people to get into, so we treat it as such. So I'll make sure I
have a link in the show notes for that as well. If you're like Tiffany,
I just need help getting my life in order, getting back on the right track.
I got you. Just check out the show notes and I'll have a link there.
So by implementing these strategies, you can effectively balance your
financial objectives, maintain stability, and work towards financial
growth even amidst economic uncertainties. I
feel like one of the most important things is to just stay in the loop.
That's why you're here, right? The key is to stay flexible
and proactive in managing your finances. So that's what these
nine tips can do for you, and I hope that answered your question and
anybody else listening that had the same question. So thank you so much
listening to the podcast today. If you enjoyed
it, definitely share with someone you know. And don't forget to rate,
subscribe, review all of those good things so that way more
people can find out about us. And until next week, I hope
you all have a wonderful rest of your week. Be sure to subscribe to
the newsletter if you don't already do so. And check out
moneytalkwitht.com where I have blog posts and all types of stuff
I'm releasing. So I hope that
this is calming for you and I gave you some tools that you can
utilize moving forward. And until next time, have a good day.
Bye. Thank you for listening, joining and
being a part of the Money Talk with TIFF podcast this week. You can check
TIFF out every Thursday for a new Money Talk podcast, but if you
just can't wait until next week, you can listen to previous podcast
episodes at Moneytalk with tea or
follow TIFF on all social media platforms at
moneytalkwitht. Until next time, spend wise
by spending less than you make a word to the money wise is
always sufficient.