The Spending Seasons

Spending often changes season to season.

The overspending habit can take on several looks over the course of a year. Here are the common ones.

Happy Friday all,

In our conversations this past week, we talked a lot about spending "seasons"...the conversation usually goes like this:

Client: "Whew! Summer is over, we overspent a little on vacations, but that's okay...you only get so many summers; we should be able to get back on track this Fall."

Me: "Let's talk about what's coming up...football season, hunting season, time for good red fish fishing (October), and the holidays are not far behind those."

My point is, if you overspend for a "season", you might find a way to give yourself a pass and overspend all year.

Here are the typical spending "seasons" we see:
1) Mardi Gras & Jazz Fest
2) Summer Vacation
3) Football, Hunting, Fishing
4) Holidays

Getting and sticking to your spending plan will be one of the largest drives of success (or failure) of your financial plan.

Here is how to break the overspending cycle:
1) Look at the hard numbers of your spending, no guesses, and no rounding.
2) Compare to what your goal spending was, be honest if you went over.
3) If you went over, figure out what needs to change, write down the changes you will make in order to get back on track.
4) Write down your goal spending for the next "season". Make sure you can afford this without going to credit or carrying a balance.
5) Repeat

#spending #cashflow #cashflowmanagement #wealth #wealthmanagement