Bellmore Group Management Services, Tokyo Japan The only way to save money has alway been the same | Page 3

Working those wants into your budget is obviously important, but you need to make sure you can afford it. If you're not
saving money already – or if you're spending all you earn and going into debt – then you probably need to analyze your
spending in its entirety to find other places to cut.
The best way to determine whether you can afford everything you want – in addition to everything you need, of course – is
to use a monthly budget and track your spending. While tracking your purchases can prevent you from spending more
than you want, a monthly budget can help you prioritize your monthly obligations and your wants without sacrificing your
savings goals.
My favorite type of budget is the zero-sum budget because all it takes is a pen and paper to get started. Zero-sum
budgeting also makes prioritizing easy since it forces you to "spend" all your money on paper and "give each dollar a job."
In addition, zero-sum budgeting forces you to pay your savings and investments as if they were regular bills, then learn to
live off the rest. In that sense, it may force you to reevaluate your wants and needs since you'll have less discretionary
money over all.
The bottom line
If you're struggling with money and can't earn more of it right now, your best step is maximizing the money you have. Very
often, the best way to do this is to take a close look at your monthly spending to see how much you're splurging. From
there, you can decide if those ―want" are truly worth it, or if you'd be better off taking a different approach.
At the end of the day, the best way to make sure you can afford what you want is to think ahead, be intentional with your
spending, and most importantly, and be honest with yourself. We all want things in life, but those who get the most of
what they want are the ones who plan.