I’ll be honest with you here: money management is NOT my forte. In fact, let’s start with a little story. When I moved away from home for university, my dad gave me $5000 of EMERGENCY funds. I’m talking emergency as in I broke my nose in a severe car crash and had to pay for plastic surgery.
Do you know what I did with the $5000? I spent it at Sephora, Aritzia, and Coach. I thought it was all going to be fine, until one day, my dad took a look at the account and calmly asked me if I thought buying lipstick at Sephora counted as an emergency. Oops.
I proceeded to spend the summer working at Aritzia and gave all of my pay cheques to my dad. He wanted to teach me a lesson.
THANKFULLY, I’ve come a long way since then. Although I’m not a finance expert, I care about how I spend my money, because I realize that I need to be smart if I want to run a successful business. And most importantly, like every other area in my life, I’m keen to learn and improve when it comes to finances.
November is Financial Literacy Month, and although it’s the last day, I think it’s a great time to take baby steps to educate yourself! One of my favourite resources is Tangerine Bank’s Forward Thinking blog, which splits up financial topics into sections which are easily digestible. This is a helpful resource because financial literacy is something that needs to be kept top of mind all year round, not just one month of the year!
You guys know that I’m a full-time content creator, which has taught me a whole lot about finances. Unlike a normal job, I don’t have a steady stream of income. One month, I make a lot of money, and the next, I make absolutely nothing. After a few stupid financial decisions, I made a few rules for myself:
1. Never Spend Beyond My Means
Up until last year, my credit card had a $1000 limit on it. I made sure I had a lower limit on it for the first few years out of college because it forced me to spend within my means. I could never really go into debt. My credit limit is higher now, but not one that I can’t pay off.
2. Always Have Enough Cash For 2 Months of Living Expenses
When I initially got large contracts from my blog, I splurged. But I realized quickly that it just wasn’t the smart thing to do. Instead of splurging on designer shoes every time I made money (which I do on occasion still), I decided to prioritize and put away 2 months of living expenses, which is like a back-up on those quiet months.
3. Save Every Damn Receipt And Invest In A Good Accountant
The first time I had to do taxes as a solopreneur was a serious nightmare. I hadn’t saved one receipt. NOT ONE. Because I didn’t know any better. I did, however, have the good sense to invest in an accountant because I realized there was no way I was going to manage my taxes alone. The lesson I learned was that tax season is something I have to think of every single day, and that I need to save my receipts.
4. Pick Between Flights and Designer Bags
The thought of maxing out my credit card to buy things really stresses me out. I know that I make money to buy either the designer bag or the plane ticket. So I never buy both. I pick and choose. If I’ve had a bag on my radar for months, then I get the bag and forego the plane ticket to my next destination. And similarly, if I really want to get away, I won’t buy the designer bag. Spoiler alert: 9/10 times, the plane ticket wins.
5. It’s NOT A Diet
I don’t think money is different from food. In the sense that if you put yourself on a stringent, unrealistic diet, you’re going to end up binging and eating an entire jar of Nutella. I’ve had the same experience with finances. I think it’s all about balance and think of it as a lifestyle. Just being smart and reasonable. You guys know I get my lashes and nails done on the regular, those are the things that bring me joy, so I won’t deprive myself of them. But what I won’t do is drop $500 at Sephora on things I really don’t need. That way I’m not overly restrictive, I just pick and choose.
So there you have it, my money rules. Since I’m looking for ways to improve, I’ve been really into Tangerine Bank lately. And the reason is because I feel like they cater to the millennial who doesn’t have the money thing down pat but is keen to learn.
Two features on the Tangerine app and online site I wanted to call out was Left to Spend and Goals. The ‘goals’ feature allows people to establish savings goals like a trip to the Maldives or a new pair of Gucci shoes. You then set up regular contributions and get updates on the progress being made. The Left to Spend feature monitors regular expenses like rent or your daily latte and calculates how much disposable income you have left to spend.
There are a ton of other great features, but my point is that I’m like a guinea pig. I try a whole bunch of things and share ones that I love. Money matters are usually kept so hush-hush, so I wanted to share what works for me.
If you guys have any smart money tricks up your sleeves, I want to hear them!
PS – Check out the travel hack that’ll get you to your dream destination faster, and 4 ways that rejection makes you stronger