I’ve been reading a bit about Dave Ramsay’s 7 baby steps to financial peace and it makes a lot of sense to me.
Step One is to set up an emergency fund of £1000 which we’ve been trying to do for a good year now but every time we get close, something happens that means we need to dip into our fund. We’ve had car breakdowns and repairs, oven fires, broken beds and all sorts of other things that have wiped out what we’ve saved so far. We’re back down to zero now but hopefully we can get there one of these days and then we can move on to Step Two (which we’re working on already at the same time to be honest). If you haven’t heard of the seven baby steps then I’d definitely have a look here for some more info about them.
As I’ve been reading up on this, I’ve been having a think about the habits I live by or more accurately, the habits I’d like to live by. I’ve come up with a list of things that I would like to think that I can live by – some I do already but I’m a little ashamed to say that some I don’t always do even though I know I should be doing them.
I think they’re all pretty self explanatory but here’s my thoughts very quickly on why I’ve picked each of these…
1. Think about your future – don’t just live in the moment, think about next month, next year and even beyond and make plans to save for the things you want.
2. Use everything up – I used to have a cupboard full of cleaning materials that all did essentially the same job.
3. Ask yourself if you really need something before buying – cut down on impulse buys and things you don’t really need.
4. Reduce, reuse & recycle – this is exactly as it sounds. Reduce what you use, reuse things where you ca and recycle everything that can be recycled.
5. Meal plan – plan your meals every week.
6. Grow your own veg – this is something I know I should do but my veg patch is very neglected at the moment.
7. Have an emergency fund – this one is on here thanks to Dave Ramsay’s advice. 😉
8. Repair and reuse rather than replace – most things can be repaired rather than replaced with a bit of superglue and a Youtube tutorial.
9. Cook from scratch – this isn’t always cheaper but it’s usually better for you.
10. Make what you can – homemade clothes, products and anything else you can make.
11. Don’t believe the adverts – you don’t need whatever it is that they’re trying to seel you.
12. Don’t spend more than you have – if it’s worth having then it’s worth saving for.
What would you add to my list?
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