nostriches
how did you get your personal finances in line and improved on it?
Discussion
was it a book, intentional budgeting, state of mind or something else?
Start with Richest Man in Babylon that should be your first read itâs timeless, practical, interesting and not a long read.
I just started stacking them higher when the line got too long. Wasnât rocket science but it works
ah yes, the og shitcoins
4 steps.
1. Spend less than you earn.
2. Pay yourself first. (Save)
3. Pay essentials(food, housing, transport)
4. Pay down debts with remainder.
gotcha, good stuff
Can get nuanced in step 4 by paying down debts with high interest before paying down debts with low interest.
Typically best to make minimum payments on lower interest lines of credit (student loans?) while paying down high interest lines(credit cards?) and then as debts are eliminated doubling down on the still existing debts until youâre on top of things.
Once youâre on top of things, as long as you keep to 1, it can make sense to contribute more to 2, instead of paying down debts as savings can sometimes out pace interest(bitcoin for example)
Pay yourself first means treat your savings as your top priority expense above ALL other expenses. Save minimum 10% every paycheque and live off the other 90%. This cannot be overstated, most people treat there savings as there last priority and wonder why they never have anything left at the end of the month. The above is the answer.
Take radical steps to cut costs. Make a game of saving or paying down debt. Never think work is beneath you.
have no debt
The debtor is slave to the lender
how come
Its a verse from proverbs
âThe rich rules over the poor,
and the borrower is the slave of the lender.â
â Proverbs 22:7
at the end of every month in a spreadsheet :
- manually log every transaction
- manually record the balance of every account
after a few months youâll know where to improve.
you have a template to send by chance?
i donât, but i used this method for years. i kept it very simple:
- a tab called template with a simple table for your accounts, just name and balance. another table to track what youâre spending, effectively your monthly bank statements
- every month duplicate the template tab and rename it for the month, eg dec-2025. login to your accounts and record the balances.
the manual process is part of the secret. youâre very aware of what youâre spending and where youâre at.
I remember reading the richest man in Babylon and that was great. I learned about btc 5 years ago and thats been the difference.
Kinda always been interested in having a sense of independence and control of my money. Came from my single mom who had to really track her budget and get creative with both income and saving on expenses.
Always good to start with getting a handle on your overall situation- most important is cash flow and a good sense of your budget. Donât forget random things like birthday presents, annual fees for shit, lift tickets, etc. Net worth is next. Have an emergency fund. Spend less than you earn, continue to ratchet up saving/stacking as your earnings go up. And have something specific to save for so when you have to make a hard decision, impulse wonât always win :) The other stuff like insurance coverages, rent v own, etc. are important, but lots of resources on them and suggest focus on the basics ( positive cash flow, emergency fund, no high-interest debt). hope that helps and good luck.
i think the key is to have a good picture of what you earn and spend on, i do this with a basic excel tracking income & fixed costs (utilities, bills, etc.) + a monthly budget for the groceries and misc expenses. build a cash cushion of 3 to 6 months of living expenses depending on job stability. after that you are in a great position to start saving for the long term, which you should do as soon as you get a paycheck (pay yourself first). your saving & investments can now compound and you won't need to liquidate anything if something unexpected happens. hope that helps.
#asknostr
Avoid taking on debt that you can't immediately repay.
I have an excel with forecasts that I update with actuals monthly. It tracks my income, I split my expenses wrt food, fitness, university, home building / finishing. Everything else goes in a miscallaneous column, and I try to limit my frugality to that column. I split my savings between bank and Bitcoin. It let's me know my Bitcoin denominated position and cost basis.
Then I have a dashboard with charts.
It's pretty neat. Idk if that it's what flipped the switch. I definitely use it to plan my stacking, which guides my expenses. But I already have most of the information organised by Revolut.
I guess having to write in the accounts is an opportunity to look back on stuff and budget for the next month.
Before this, everything was haphazard, and I didn't care about savings. I'd cope with maximising ROI not net worth.