Oh, the old feast and famine trick! Doesn’t it feel awful?!

It’s so common and yet there is such a simple solution: Systems.

That’s right beautiful people. You just need a system for your cash.

“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”

James Clear, Atomic Habits

Here are some top tips (do all or none of them based on what feels right for you):

 🪴Separate your accounts based on different themes of spending (bills, day to day living, savings, dog, holiday, gifts...etc). If you have an offset account – see if you can have multiple to max your interest saving benefits.

🪴Get a ‘master account’ that your pay and any other income comes into. Set it up so this account flows money to the other accounts (see why we call it cashflow!).

🪴Get out of your own way. Set up automations so when you’re paid your money automatically moves there (hello time saver! Use that time to learn how to build more wealth).

PRO TIP: You may want to use your current account as your bill account so then you don’t need to change any existing direct debits you have, and only need to change where you get paid. 

🪴Pay your day to day living account weekly. Irrespective of your pay cycle. Weekly! This is the money you can use for having fun, groceries...etc.This eradicates feast and famine spending quickly when done correctly, but you need to have a mindset where you gamify it to make the money stretch as far as it needs to for what you have on that week. Some weeks may be quieter and allow you to bank up funds for those busier times. Have not even 1% of shame when it gets to the day before you get your next allocation (Tues is this day for me) and your friend wants to hang out, but you have $8 left. Tell them! Get creative or meet for a coffee (surely coffee is still under $8?!). Your goals, security and peace of mind are worth not robbing from for quick thrills. Trust me.

🪴Know there are some accounts that don’t have card access, which may be handy for goals based savings if you need to create extra barriers for yourself.

 🪴If you reeeallly struggle with spending, take ApplePay (or any similar version) off your phone. Unsubscribe or unfollow any brands you need to so you’re avoiding temptation. Go back and rate how much value you got from spending on the thing (this will be based on your personal values) and what other important stuff you traded off for it. Can feel confronting but worth it.

I did this more than 10 years ago and it was a game changer for me and my 🌶️ brain. Freedom within boundaries and not worrying about transferring for goals or having enough to pay bills is the game changer.

I would love to hear how you go with these, once you get it right... I promise life will feel so much simpler, easier to manage and you won’t go through the emotional spending rollercoaster month after month. Leaving more headspace (and hopefully cash!) to get saving, investing and ultimately achieving your big goals.

Have a money dilemma?

Money dilemmas can be a nightmare! They can leave you up all night ruminating about what to do, have you feeling alone and isolated or just plain ol' stuck. So, we are here to help. I am going to tackle one a week and give you my unbiased, no BS general thoughts on how to tackle your conundrum. We would love for you to send yours (or someone you know) in. 

Obvs all of this is general advice only... especially important to note any and all of the comments above do not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any information, you should consider the appropriateness of the information provided and the nature of the relevant financial product having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.