Why not create a money routine?
We have all heard about the benefits of having a morning routine, but have you ever thought of creating a money routine?
Since according to Aristotle we are what we repeatedly do, I truly believe that changing our money habits and mindset for the better is the key to transforming our relationship with money. A money routine will also ensure that you are being proactive rather than reactive with money. Below I share our money routine that was instrumental in us being able to pay off our mortgage early in 7 years and that we continue to use towards our new goals.
Annual money date
My husband and I talk about our dream life and what we want our life to look like day to day and in also longer term (i.e. 10-15 years and beyond)
Review goals and plans that we have already put in place and see if that still aligns with our dream life plans
Identify any large purchases and holidays we want to take (upcoming year and beyond)
Review our insurance and investments to see if any changes need to be made
Monthly money date (about a week prior to payday)
Review and lock in our curated money plan (aka budget) for the coming month
Quick review of larger expenses that we had planned for earlier in the year and see if we want to make any adjustments / changes
Review our net worth on a quarterly basis
Make this an enjoyable event by paring it with something you love doing (e.g. wine and cheese night, brunch at a cafe)
Monthly allocations (payday)
Transfer money to different accounts based on the curated money plan that we agreed to at monthly money date
This will usually include transferring money to:
investments (shares platform)
savings and goal accounts
various sinking funds
‘fun money’ which is a set amount that my husband and I get allocated to our individual account to spend or save as we please
At the beginning I used to find it hard to not overspend on eating out and groceries so would take out cash once a month and divide this up into weekly amounts.
Weekly check ins
Because ‘where focus goes energy flows’ I go through my transactions and list out what we have spent during the week so I can compare this with what we have allowed for in our curated money plan
This is a key step for those who are overspending every month. The most common mistake I see from most people are that they are only reviewing their expenses at the end of the month when it is too late to change course which can lead to them thinking that budgeting doesn’t work and throwing in the towel
I also like looking through our transactions because our credit card was hacked a few years ago so I can pick up any suspect transactions and also pick up any auto-renew subscriptions that are no longer part of our curated life
A lot of people assume that they don’t have time to put towards their money, however once you get into the swing of things it truly becomes a habit like brushing your teeth or going to the grocery store. My weekly check ins take about 5-10 minutes a week and monthly money dates and allocations take about 15-30 minutes a month. So roughly 1 hour a month on average. Data from Statista.com from 2022 shows that Kiwis spend an average of just under 2 hours per day on social media and most of us are working 35-40 hours a week to earn our money so relatively speaking taking just over an hour a month to make sure your money is working for you doesn’t seem too bad!
I hope this inspires you to implement your own money routine xx
p.s. If you want to find out more about my other habits and routines that got me from broke and living paycheck to paycheck to being mortgage free make sure you download my free financial wellness guide here
Photo by Hyeonyoung Yang on Unsplash