7 Steps to Money Management: How To Stop Pulling A Face And Achieve Your Goals

Money management isn’t a phrase that usually strikes joy into our hearts and makes us do a little dance. It should, though. Good money management keeps money flowing through your business and your life and it’s great for keeping stress and overwhelm out.

Follow our 7 Steps to Money Management and achieve your business and life goals.

Step 1: Stop Pulling A Face

• You do need to be an adult about this and stop putting your head in the sand
• Being grown-up does not mean being boring
• Acknowledge you need to look at areas that may not be comfortable and that’s ok, no judgment

Step 2: What Do You Want

• Find out what you want
• What do you need to do to get what you want
• How are you going to fit your life around those actions (yes, it’s that way round)

Step 3: What Is In The Way

• Identify your blocks, no judgment or excuses
• Identify your life priorities
• Focus on your time being spent on your priorities (partner, children etc), your blocks, and actions you need to take to achieve your goals

Step 4: Nurture Yourself

• It’s easy to tell ourselves off. Nurture yourself instead
• Schedule little luxuries into your life that make you feel good and nurture your inner self
• Build noticing into your life so you notice if you’re tense or anxious you can relax
• Be gentle on yourself and apply no judgment. Spend time with whatever you are feeling

Step 5: Look Straight Ahead

• In actual figures, how much income do you need, how much do you have, how much do you spend which isn’t essential, how much debt do you have. No judgment, just write it down
• How much do you want to be earning 5 years from now. Don’t be realistic, how much do you WANT. Write it down
• Put those numbers on a piece of paper, put in an SAE and send. Put it in an obvious place, unopened, when you receive it back. It’s gentle commitment

Step 6: Talk About It

• Tell a friend what you’re doing if you want to, tell business friends, tell your mastermind group, write about it on your blog
• Talk about money in a manner of fact way, without apology. It’s not evil, it’s just money
• Be around people who generate income in the way you want to do, be around people who use money well
• Share your money blocks, face up to procrastination that is really fear or needing help, share your income goals and get a money management buddy

Step 7: Take Action

• Cash flow – Cash flow is having enough money to pay the bills when you need to pay them. Look at yours, business and personal. Where are the pinch points, what has happened in the past that created problems, what could happen in the future, create a plan to manage or consolidate debt and improve the money flow

• Credit control – Keeping on top of invoices and money due to be paid to you and money you are due to pay others. It can be hard to ask for money and chase invoices. Get support and help, and outsourcing is included in this. Create a system so you follow the system which is easier to do and the professional thing to do. It can also save your cash flow

• Accounting – Have a system you understand that works for you and fits into your life, that is also fit for purpose (HMRC and legally compliant). It doesn’t need to be complicated or take ages and procrastination is often fear of numbers and doing records (which is fine, just get help, it’s ok)

• Tax returns – It’s not pleasant and needs to be done. Get it like cleaning your teeth, something you just do, without taking energy away from your business by putting it off. For most one man bands it’s not that difficult to do, just needs a bit of help and guidance.

• Rewards – Very important. It’s easy to deny ourselves, we ought to be perfect, compare ourselves to our ideal self. Reward yourself and plan that into your day, task list and goals. Have a look at our Pinterest boards for some ideas. If a task is easily done, you still get a reward!

• Saving – Saving is money to be spent later. It can save you from many a cash flow problem that can cause serious stress. Think short term (paying your mortgage on time, tax bills), medium term (sick pay), long term (retirement). It isn’t about how much money you have, it’s about caring enough about yourself to put aside money, even if the amount is small.  If you aren’t sure how to do this, get help.

Put money management at the heart of your business, and you support and nurture your goals. Take meaningful action and give yourself the best possible chance of achieving your dreams even when life throws the unexpected at you.