Happy New Year, friends!

Just had a randomly refreshing chat with a fellow coffee shop goer, and as things tend to go we ventured into finances and the words that came out of his mouth were outstanding, lol… So much so I had to stop him mid-sentence a couple of times to make sure I got his phrases right! 😆

Here were some of the highlights from our convo, in *his own words* as best as I can remember…

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“I would rather play chicken with my bills than with my savings”

Instead of spending on “wants” first like I’ve done all my life, I flipped it around and now SAVE first and pay bills second. Then if there happens to be anything left over, I use that to buy any “extras” I might want.

I went from not being able to save $1,000 and a credit score of 580, to having over $13,000 in the bank and a score of 730 within one year!

There were a handful of things that led to this, but it was mainly re-ordering my priorities and paying myself first that got me going in the right direction.

“I’ve gone to a more “spatial” system of managing my cash flow”

Another reason I was able to save so much this year was because I drastically changed my management system. Instead of having everything in 1-2 accounts, I’ve gone to a more “spatial” system.

What I mean by that is I spread my accounts across multiple banks that all serve a specific purpose:

1. I have one account for my short-term savings
2. One account for my long-term savings
3. One account for my bills
4. And then one account for my spending/wants.

My business banking looks similar: one account for savings, one account for bills, and another account for taxes (I pay quarterly). It’s a lot to manage, but it’s brought so much peace and savings.

“I threw away my debit cards”

The first thing I did when I started re-arranging everything was to move all my savings into a brick and mortar bank that had no online access. This way the only way I could access my money was by going there in person. I did get debit cards, but I immediately cut them up and threw them away.

This has immensely strengthened my discipline, and partly why I was able to go from $1,000 to $13,000 so fast. It took me over 30 years to save my first $10,000 and now the hardest part is over!

“I spend a lot of money looking for women”

Over the course of 3-4 years I’ve spent $40,000+ looking for love, or about $1,200/mo.

Part of that goes to dating apps like eHarmony (which I initially balked at as it cost me $300!), but most of it comes from just doing my best to be “visable.” So lots of eating out and hanging with friends, visiting bars/community events/etc. You have to put yourself out there if you truly want to meet people.

I initially felt bad about spending all this money with no savings in the bank, but later I realized I was prioritizing what I wanted and I became okay with it. Now I could have been more *efficient* with the way I went about it, but I am proud to say it worked out in the end and I will be getting married at the end of this month! Ironically, to a woman I found on eHarmony!!

(Editor’s Note: This was the most interesting part of the whole conversation, haha… As someone who met their partner years before online dating and apps came around, I’m always fascinated by the mixture of tech and love. And really how much dating seems to cost in general??! And I’ve surely never met anyone who has TRACKED IT ALL, lol… Probably exactly what I would do if ever back in that situation 😂)

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So basically, yeah – most stuff we’ve heard before, but in much more entertaining ways ;)

1) Save first, spend later

2) Build a system that works for you!

3) Make yourself more “visable” when you want something. Whether it be love, business, career, you name it. If you’re not putting yourself into the position to *receive,* you’re limiting yourself! Nothing great has happened sitting on your couch – you have to put yourself out there and tell the world what you are looking for!

(This is exactly, btw, why I choose to do my projects out of coffee shops. I never know who I’ll run into or what type of magic might happen! And surely this blog post would have never been created, so who knows what you would be reading right now??! Lolol…)

At any rate, all good things to think about as we head into the new year here :)  Will you consciously place yourself in situations which allow you to get closer to your goals or farther away from them? Are your management systems still serving you okay, or is it time to blow them up and start from scratch? Where will you be putting that first dollar from your next paycheck? If it isn’t to YOU, you need to re-read this whole blog post! ;)

Your F.G.A. (Financial Guardian Angel),