The great Albert Einstein once said, “It takes a genius to see the obvious.”
Let these wise words guide you today. What he meant by that is that sometimes the simpler things in life are the most powerful … but because they are so obvious, we tend to ignore them, and not let them work for us.
One of the most powerful money making ideas is this: keep a daily diary of everything you spend. Go to the dollar store, buy a little book, and carry it with you wherever you go. Write down every penny – each single penny - you spend. It’s just as simple as that.
If you do this one thing, you will find that something magical happens in your financial life in only a few weeks.
There is something incredibly powerful about writing down each of your expenditures. It makes the flow of money through your life more realistic and exacting. It shows you simply and clearly just exactly where you are spending your money, on what and why. Once you know this, it becomes much easier to control your spending. You will feel empowered with self-control and this will encourage saving.
Many people who have taken up this practice have not only learned something about themselves, which they never before understood, but they are often astounded by the simplicity of the lesson learned.
For example, a person could realize through examining their notebook that they actually spent nearly $1,000 throughout the year on diet soft drinks, snacks and candy bars! Since their job only brings in $20,000 per year, they realized that 5% of their entire income was being frittered away on something entirely frivolous. The person gave up the snacks and drinks, and found they had enough money to go on vacation the following year. If you had the choice between snacks and a much-needed vacation, which would you choose? Of course you would choose the vacation, we all would.
The point is, it was their daily expense log that helped achieve the insight and clarity they needed to realize control of their finances. That’s what a simple spending record will do for you - it will give you much needed control over your spending, and thus your financial life. There may be nothing but a 75-cent notebook and a ballpoint pen between your life of financial struggle and financial freedom.
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