Money Advice - Pay yourself first!
Michelle Gartner from Smart, Not Cheap, tagged me awhile ago to participate in the Moolanomy My One Piece of Money Advice Meme. Sorry it’s so late, but here it goes.
If I could offer one piece of money advice, it would be to PAY YOURSELF FIRST! I’m sure you’ve all heard it before, but how many of you actually do it? To the max? Maybe you contribute a bit to your 401K, but do you contribute enough to get your full company match? That’s free money! Do you have any going into savings as well?
It’s amazing how this country seems to live on credit, and I fully regret NOT doing this from the start. We have lived beyond our means for awhile now, but if we had paid ourselves first to the max, as a rule from the get go, it wouldn’t have happened. My husband just got a nice promotion and raise, and we are taking this year to really try and get ahead of the ball as far as our finances are concerned.
Our new goal is starting at this time next year, when my husband gets his annual performance review, to finally really start paying ourselves first. It will probably take us this whole next year, to finish paying off the credit cards, my husbands car loan AND build enough of an emergency fund in savings. We feel like we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. We would have never gotten in the tunnel if we had made it a rule from early on, to pay ourselves first. So there you go, take it or leave it, that’s my money advice!
I’m not going to tag anyone on this meme, but feel free to jump in and participate if you have a piece of advice you’d like to offer!
I really wish I was better at this one. :O)
Blogging is very hard work and if you can make money from it i recommend you pay yourself ASAP. I agree when you say “it’s amazing how this country seems to live on credit”. I hate owing money to other people so my target over the next 2 years is to pay the money off.
This is something we all need to be reminded of every now and then. Thanks!
We must live and learn… That´s a nice tip, i wish i was better at my money manegement. Thanks for sharing!
Chears!!
Yeah, I hate owing people as well.. I got friends who owe me several hundreds.. I want my money back!
same here its annoying if you owe someone.
I think it’s very hard not to owe money to anybody in any form or shape (credit, loan etc), but sleeping is much better without owning.
Pay yourself first is very good advice and lifestyle if you want.
paying myself first is my favorite thing to do! too bad i dont get to do it as often as i would like
Great Advice, but make sure the “real lesson” is absorbed and not the actual words. Great Stuff!
I agree with you 100%. Pay yourself first is one of main money mottos . That along with “spend less than you earn”.
Great site btw.
FT
pay yourself first .. that’s a quote from “rich dad - poor dad”
I have no choice to own my study loan for 16k. Need to be smart now, or going to be poor forever.
This is age-old advice, so why do we all keep forgetting? I know I need reminded over and over.
Pay yourself first is definately the way to go. Even if you have debt you’ll never get ahead if you dont put money away in 401k or other savings account. I’m not saying dont pay your bills but they come second to saving for future