Ten Ways to Clear Up Money Clutter So You Can Create Money Momentum
Have you ever wondered what is preventing you from reaching your income goals?
I hear this question often from small business and entrepreneurs, “I don’t understand why I’m not making more money.” And shortly after that comment there is such frustration and then overwhelm sets in…then self-doubt sets in, and then inevitably, the old pattern keeps showing up.
The hard part about this self-defeating cycle is that often we don’t know that it is a pattern…or how to break out of self-doubt and overwhelm feeling.
Here are ten ideas that will help you break out of financial frustration, overwhelm and self-doubt. Try to come up with ten more ways of your own to break out of the Money Clutter Cycle….once you start to break free of this cycle, then you will create financial momentum and your income will start to look much better.
1. What bills are outstanding? Choose two bills each day that are “outstanding” or “late” and pay them…If you can’t pay them off entirely, then call the company and set up a payment plan. You will feel such freedom after doing this.
2. Who owes you money? What clients, friends, family members, stores owe you money right now? This is the perfect time to create courageous money boundaries for yourself and for the other person. People normally do not like owing anyone money and yet the “money” conversation is ignored. Make one call a day until you’ve contacted everyone.
3. Are you receiving interest on all of your savings accounts? The point here is not really about the actual interest rate, although that would be nice to find a higher rate…rather, the point is to start paying attention and “respecting” your money. I like to think of it as nurturing or feeding your money…rather than forgetting about it and letting it “die.”
4. How many subscriptions are just renewing automatically each month that you have wanted to stop? Today is the day to hit the unsubscribe button…it’s really quite easy to do when you are focused on de-cluttering your money.
5. Are you using any coupons for office supplies, home staples, food, etc.? I am not suggesting that you spend a lot of time clipping coupons unless of course, you enjoy doing that. Rather, what about checking coupons in the Sunday paper or online for staples that you always use, i.e. office paper, ink cartridges, printing, bathroom staples, food staples, coffee staples and buy in bulk with coupons.
6. How or Where can you save $1,000 or more this year? I personally love this one…I try to save $10,000 a year… I’ve saved money with extras on my phone bill, not using coupons for my staples, watching for airline tickets a month before leaving on most trips and streamlining projects.
7. Any penalties for late “due dates” or parking tickets? If you find that you are consistently “late” paying a bill and then receive a late penalty, this is the perfect declutter money item to start with as these penalties add up by the end of the year…especially those darn parking tickets J
8. What do your credit card balances look like? Are you financing your business, your marketing, other business needs with credit cards that keep adding to the balance each month? This is a great place to start as well to declutter your money…any chance to pay down the credit card each month with a purposeful plan to get it to “zero?”
9. Take a Money Hour every week – I personally love this one as well. One day a week, normally on a Friday, I take an hour and sometimes longer if I’m on a roll and I make the “yuck” calls to companies that have overcharged, end subscriptions that can’t be done online and make sure my savings and checking accounts are in order. I do have a bookkeeper who does this much more often and I like to oversee and personally know what is happening with the money J
10. Are you breaking dollar bills or using your change? It’s so much easier to spend money by just throwing out a paper bill rather than paying with change for a few dollar purchases.
I’m hoping that you found a few ways to start cleaning up your money clutter. It is amazing how much “money momentum” can be created with these small steps!
If you would like an audio recording on this topic with these 10 strategies, please send me an email and we’ll get you an mp3.
Here’s to creating Money Momentum and moving closer to your income!
