Dr. Phil says "You cannot change what you do not acknowledge". My first step was to make an accurate list of all of my debt and all of my assets. I set this up in an excel spreadsheet that calculates my net worth and automatically adjusts as any one item goes up or down. I have used this type of spread sheet numerous times with my divorce clients but never really did a complete one for myself. It was time to get real about the exact numbers. I had underestimated my debt in my head by $10,000.00. When debt is spread out in little accounts here and there it is easy to be unaware of the exact total of your debt. Each month when a mortgage statement or credit card bill comes in, I input the new number and I see my net estate increase each time. It is the positive feedback I need to keep motivated in this process. When I start to make a purchase, I think, what is this going to do to my net estate.
The hard part of this process was figuring out where my money was going. By most standards I make a very good living. When I told a friend of mine how much money I make she said, "There is no reason you have to have budgetary issues". Wrong. The more money I have made the larger my budgetary issues have become. I have historically spent 110% of everything I make. The more I make the more I am in the hole. I know I am not alone because I see this in my clients everyday. Families that have earned a fortune and have very little to show for it after a decade of high earning. I started with my QuickBooks. I set up a personal account and started entering every expense. It is not a checkbook ledger, it is an expense ledger. When I spend cash, it is entered into the QuickBook. I set up categories of all of my spending. I have been doing this now for less than a full month. Immediately something is becoming clear. I spend ALOT of money eating out. ALOT. I eat out 1-2 times per day. This has got to change. I will be posting on this topic later.
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