Sometimes your salary is not paying enough to cover everything you would like. Maybe you were promoted to an exempt position that looks good on your resume, but now that lucrative overtime bonus is gone. You may have been offered the benefits you really need (health insurance, for example), and on paper everything looks fine, but there is not enough cash in your wallet.
This is where the “B” word comes in – Budget.
All experts start with an honest assessment of where your money is currently going. If you don’t know where your money is currently going, how can you control your flow? Write all the ugly reality on paper so you can look it in the face and deal with it.
The problem is not solved automatically with a higher salary; is solved by controlling how you spend what you earn.
You can see this in the sad story of many lottery winners whose huge amounts of money are lost in just a few years or in the way that even big money winners go out of business. This means that you are hopeful because you can control your cash flow by choosing to work with the real numbers instead of the dream numbers.
Look at the real numbers and make a real plan and follow it:
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Do some research on money management. There is so much wisdom and advice or free seminars that will make your head spin, but the reality is that you have to make it work for your situation.
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What are you willing to sacrifice to maintain that fixed salary or those benefits?
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When you choose NOT to spend, remember that you are saying “no” to this thing and “yes” to controlling your cash flow. You are the boss of your expenses.
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Pay the minimum on your bills if you have to, but add a little when you can. Somehow that extra gives you a sense of power.
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Allow yourself some “crazy money” that you can spend on whatever you want, but when it runs out, it runs out until you get paid again.
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Somehow keep saving for emergencies. Even a little adds up!
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Sell a few things and put the money on the bigger bills.
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Think of ways to reward yourself that don’t cost money.
Keep a reminder of your plan and your goals in sight. You are not “stuck” on that salary, you have chosen to stay in the position for a reason. Is your reason still valid? Can you ask for a review and a raise? Are you using all the benefits you have? You may need to sit down and discuss numbers with other people involved in your money decisions, but it will be worth the time and effort it takes to get everyone on the same team on this!