Making Sense Of Cents

Learn how to make extra money, how to save money, how to start a blog, and more.

JOIN OVER 300,000
MONTHLY READERS!
  • HOME
  • BLOG
  • Make Money
    • best online jobs
    • passive income ideas
    • paid online surveys
    • How To Make $100 A Day
    • 80 side job ideas
    • More Extra Income Ideas
  • SAVE MONEY
    • Free Amazon Gift Cards
    • 16 Alternatives To Cable TV
    • best rewards credit cards
    • How I Paid Off My $40,000 Student Loans
    • More Money Tips
  • Categories
    • Income Reports
    • How To Save Money
    • Extra Income Ideas
    • Blogging Tips
    • Career Advice
    • College
    • Pay Off Debt
    • Retirement
    • Self-Employment Tips
    • Travel
  • BLOG COURSES
    • AFFILIATE MARKETING COURSE
    • MAKING SENSE OF SPONSORED POSTS
    • HOW TO START A BLOG
  • Contact
    • About
    • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Recommendations

What are your top money rules?

Last Updated: December 8, 2014 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 13 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

0 shares
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Reddit
  • LinkedIn
  • Email

Yahoo the other day had a great article on top money rules.

  1. Pay Yourself First. Many people (I hope you are included in this) budget their money every month. A certain percentage or amount goes towards housing, food, entertainment, bills and so on.  And also what many people do is just throw whatever is left over to savings and retirement. However, what you should be doing is putting money towards savings and retirement FIRST.
    • Paying yourself first helps you budget better since you know how much you have left.
  • I should be paying myself first, but I am not.  Hopefully I can change this once I feel more comfortable in my situation. 
  • Practice Mindful Spending.  Watch what you buy, no matter what the cost is.  Whether the purchase is $10 or $1,000.
    • I definitely watch what I buy and I’m very critical of myself afterwards if I bought something that I don’t need.
  • What are your top money rules?

    Related Posts

    • $5,114 in Extra Income in November and My Goals$5,114 in Extra Income in November and My Goals
    • $1,175 in Extra Income, Life, Food Weekly Update$1,175 in Extra Income, Life, Food Weekly Update
    • Spending, Life, Extra Income, Food Updates…Spending, Life, Extra Income, Food Updates…
    • Passive IncomePassive Income
    • He makes less money, so what?!He makes less money, so what?!
    • Money in my 20sMoney in my 20s
    0 shares
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Reddit
    • LinkedIn
    • Email

    13 Comments
    Filed Under: Budget Tagged With: Life, Money

    About Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

    Michelle is the founder of Making Sense of Cents, a blog about personal finance and traveling. She discusses how her business has evolved in her side income series. She paid off $40,000 in student loans by the age of 24 mainly due to her freelancing side hustles. Click here to learn more about starting a blog!

    Comments

    1. jpkittie says

      October 19, 2011 at 8:41 am

      mindful spending – yep – that is something I need to practice 😉

      Reply
    2. Emma, Ella! says

      October 19, 2011 at 9:08 am

      Money money!!! My parents pay for the most. But when I do make my own, I always put some aside and try to get what I necessarily need. xo Emma

      Reply
    3. Live Simply- Live We says

      October 19, 2011 at 9:08 am

      Paying yourself first……got to do that. How can you build wealth if all you do is pay others

      Reply
    4. ~Carla~ says

      October 19, 2011 at 9:22 am

      I plan our budget around our savings MOST of the time. I try to keep a balance… I also try to focus on being grateful for what I have… It keeps my "wants" in check!

      Reply
    5. Hawaii Planner says

      October 19, 2011 at 9:28 am

      I'm great about paying myself first for retirement, but I've been doing that since my first job so it's habit by now. I'm still working on the paying attention to my budget and doing better on the mindful spending part. 🙂

      Reply
    6. Steph says

      October 19, 2011 at 10:42 am

      I have been planning for retirement since the first day of my first job 🙂 I'm a little bit of an OCD planner, which sometimes can be a good thing. My top money rule is if I need it, I'll buy it. If I don't, I won't. I also try to limit myself to spending my fun money only on weekends. This stops me from stopping for fast food or impulse shopping during the week.

      Reply
    7. MW says

      October 19, 2011 at 10:55 am

      These are great rules!!I'd say my number one, all-time money rule is to not spend money on things I don't care about, so that I CAN spend money on things I DO care about. So, for instance, I bring my lunch to work every day. Not just because it's a frugal thing, but because I don't really care about lunch, whether it's PB&J or something I picked up. But I totally bought an iPad 2 as soon as they came out. Why? Because I wanted one, and I'd planned to buy one. Everyone has different priorities when it comes to spending, I just like to make sure that I have my priorities in check, so that I'm not wasting money on things that I don't consider to be a priority.

      Reply
    8. Michelle P says

      October 19, 2011 at 11:39 am

      I'm the same way as you MW. I usually eat alone in my office (I work at a small company and everyone eats at a different time), so I don't see the point in spending a ton of money on food when I would just be enjoying it by myself. I'm fine with just bringing a sandwich, chips, leftovers, or whatever (as long as it tastes good of course, I'm not going to bring crap). That way I can spend my money on something that I actually want.

      Reply
    9. Alex M says

      October 19, 2011 at 3:14 pm

      I am sort of the opposite. Although hubby and I both do large 401(k) contributions and he has a good company stock plan. I do have "fun" money which usually amounts to 20 to 40 bucks of cash. With that I buy my guilty pleasures — thrift store finds, small pieces of jewelry, doughnuts. But we are not extravagant. At the end of the month, I have hubby tell us how much we have left over in the checking account and the excess goes into savings. In doing so, we can make extra payments on the line of credit, the trailer payment, etc. I do still try not to buy buy buy. And I've had to learn to let go and not be critical if my hubby brings home expensive bakery brownies every week. But we still manage to save!

      Reply
    10. Girl Makes Cents says

      October 20, 2011 at 2:36 am

      Make sure you spend less than you earn. Always put some away into savings.

      Reply
    11. Tanner says

      October 20, 2011 at 2:58 am

      Give yourself a week to think about big/unusual purchases. It will give you time to reflect if you REALLY need that which you're trying to buy and research it. Or you may end up forgetting about it (in which case, you didnt need to buy it in the first place).

      Reply
    12. Stephanie says

      October 20, 2011 at 3:41 am

      I'm definitely good about paying myself first for retirement savings. I do need to be a bit better about it with short-term savings. We have a pretty hefty amount set aside, at least compared to most people our age, but my husband and I both have stuff we want to get done around the house, like fencing in our back yard. Plus we'll need a new car within the next year or so. I really want to pay cash for the fence and have a really big downpayment on the car, so I finally reinstated automatic transfers from my paycheck to help with that goal.But I'd add that not depriving yourself is important. I guess this goes under the "mindful spending" umbrella, but small treats here and there can help you from feeling deprived and going hog-wild when you can't take it anymore. 😉

      Reply
    13. Rafiki says

      October 23, 2011 at 7:43 pm

      Mine is and probably always will be. Spend less than you earn. I am guilty though of not paying myself first, technically. I do have a small portion taken out for retirement before I get paid but other than that, I usually take care of my bills first then do whatever I want with the leftovers(usually saved). This works for me for some reason though.

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Making Sense of Cents welcome page photo
    Hello and welcome!
    My name is Michelle and I'm the author/owner of Making Sense of Cents. Learning how to save money and make more money changed my life. It allowed me to pay off $40,000 in student loans, start my own business, and I now travel full-time.

    As Seen On

    as seen on
    How To Start A Blog
    making sense of affiliate marketing for bloggers
    My Monthly Online Income Reports
    My Student Loans Are Gone - How I Paid Off $38,000 In Student Loans
    How To Prevent Financial Fraud From Happening To You
    Buying a House at 20 (How I did it)
    How To Make Money Blogging Picture
    How To Save 50% Or More Of Your Income Picture
    How I Graduated From College In 2.5 Years With 2 Degrees AND Saved $37,500
    75+ Ways To Make Extra Money

     

    HOME
    ABOUT
    CONTACT
    FREE FB GROUP

    PRIVACY POLICY
    TERMS OF USE
    DISCLAIMER / EARNINGS DISCLAIMER
    Copyright © 2011 - 2023. All Rights Reserved.

    © 2023 Making Sense of Cents
    Design by Swoon & Co. Creative