Money Management...You've either got the gene or don't

I have found in my life that most of my friends either are fantasically good with their money, so good that it makes you sick or they (like me) like to blow any money they have like they are the richest people on earth without a care in the world.  I have began to attribute this one to one thing...

A Money Gene

Now stay with me as I realize this sounds ridiculous. Start thinking of friends you have that are fantastic with money, what is their background? I have friends that were dirt poor and their parents were horrible with money and I have friends that were never concerned with their parents finances and both types of people are fantastic with money. This being said I have seen this case happen and they are horrible with money. So my conclusion? It's born into you.

So my story goes that I grew up pretty poor. My parents were living on a teachers salary for most of my childhood but since I wasn't old enough to be aware of money issues I won't attribute this to my case.  I skip ahead to living with my grandfather. We were pretty broke living off of my social security and my grandfathers. Let me tell ya 1600 bucks a month does not get you far. Luckily we didn't have rent and my grandfather had a machining business on the side. I was always allowed to see the check book and understand what bills had to be paid first. I think mostly he did this so I would understand why we couldn't go out to eat that week and of course because he figured the Social Security money was in a way mine.  I can still remember one summer where my grandfather's business was booming. We were living, let me tell ya. I got extra toys and we ate out almost every night. Not to blame my grandfather but I believe this trend has stuck with me most of my life. When I have money, I live it up. Whenever I'm broke, well that's easy you just eat what's in the cabinet and survive until pay day. 

Now back to the gene theory, with me in tow not a single one of my siblings is good with money. At all.  I am not saying we are all living paycheck to paycheck but none of us have really mastered the art of having 10k in savings and a 401k on the side. I am determined to stop this cycle.

Now before I explain how I will untrain myself of years of bad habits I must give credit where credit is due. There are 2 people in my life that are a big influence on me and why I want to be able to save money. First my friend Andie. While I visited her we talked about money and finances. I love that like me she is very open about how her and Kit save their money and how far they have come in their progress. She showed me the system she uses (dave ramsey) and gave me some tips on how I could also start to work on my money management skills. My second influence is my friend Kyle. Let me tell you this kid is amazing with his money, he follows a strict budget and does not stray from it. He has been able to show me several times a budget spreadsheet and apps that he uses on his phone to keep himself in line. Anytime he spends money he goes into his app and allocates it to a certain expense and keeps himself from over spending.

On to me.Two things happened that made me snap and realized I had to make a change. First was my new car. I know buying new is not always smart but it was a decision Shawn and I made together for many reasons that pertained to my job and things we needed out of a car. This being said after taxes and a few add ons it put us into 26k in debt. Being in that much debt will start kick your survival skills. I decided the only way to pay off that much debt in my goal time line (3 years) was a complete change in the way I use my money. Since I know myself I started up a completely seperate checking account where my mileage (money I get from my job) goes into. This money is untouchable to me for anything but my car payment. Beforehand I had used this money for various things including gas money and I never noticed how much I was gaining each month and not using properly. I have found that over 3 months I have been able to make $600-800 car payments. That means that for a year I have had an extra income I wasn't taking full advantage of! The sad part is, I don't even notice that it's gone from my disposable income.

The second decision that made me realize I had to make a change was a plan for a Eurotrip. My friends Andie, Kit, Shawn and I decided we wanted to go on a Eurotrip next Summer. This trip will cost each of us around $4000. I figured that Shawn and I both needed to save around $300 a month to have the right amount by next may. So how was I going to save money? This is the girl who hasn't had more than $500 in savings at one given time, and let me tell you it didn't stay there very long. How could I keep myself from touching that money when I was broke and HAD to have something? Well pairing with my car payment I used that account to attach a saving account onto it. This enabled me to have two bank accounts. One account (where my paycheck is deposited) and another which I only use to deposit money or make a car payment! Not spend! Ever!

Seeing my savings account grow has prompted me to save even more money. Usually when I receive a bonus from work, I see it as spending money to buy things I have been dying to have and probably do not need. This Bonus I will be compromising with myself and saving most of it and only using $300 to accomplish one of my life goals; paragliding.

So if you find yourself like me and feel that you born without that money management gene, do not stress. It is possible to stop your addictive spending habits and see your saving account grow into something to be proud of.