It starts small. And that can be the hardest thing to understand in the moment when you’re in it. When you’re making $500/month like I once was, when you’re in a 9-5 living paycheck to paycheck like I’ve been, when looking at your money gives you more anxiety than comfort - all things I’ve felt. But it’s the habits you build that will change your life, your finances and your future. Those small habits you practice each day will be the reason you go from making $500/month to managing a business making $50,000/month. If you can’t manage $500, you sure as heck shouldn’t manage $5,000 a month. 1️⃣ Tracking your expenses, this is a non-negotiable honestly for me at this point. You need to understand what is coming in and what’s going out. If you can’t tell me how much you cost to live each month, this is where you start. I track my expenses the SAME way I did when I made $500/month to now managing multiple businesses and personal finances. 2️⃣ High yield savings account, building a 6-12 month emergency fund should be everyone’s first goal when you start earning money at any age. An emergency fund is not for the “if” but for the “when” because something will happen and you need to be prepared. Storing this in a high yield savings account allows you to earn 5% interest on your money and earn interest on your money. 3️⃣ Understand how to leverage travel credit cards. It’s no surprise I love to travel and it’s something I’ve always loved but when I was making $500/month in college I couldn’t afford air travel by any means. So I began to leverage travel credit cards and their sign on bonuses to travel. I always say, don’t put anything on a credit card you couldn’t pay cash for - they’re only a tool if leveraged responsibly. 4️⃣ Create a buy list. I would have a notes section on my phone and ANYTHING I wanted to purchase that wasn’t a necessity I would add to this list and have to wait 24 hours before purchasing. 9/10 times I would choose to not buy the item after waiting on it a day. 5️⃣ Be mindful of where you spend your free time. This took about a year of self awareness and instead of going to target after work I would go outside or the gym. Instead of shopping on online, I began reading. I was spending $600/month at times on random items I didn’t need but was just buying to spend time. Be aware of this and stop going to malls tbh. Comment any money hacks you’ve implemented in your life to share with others 👇🏼 #finances #financetok