Personal finance is so personal,  and the way you manage your money is no different. There is no cookie cutter solution, no one-size-fits-all framework, and no single way to manage your money and find financial flexibility. This is why it’s crucial to have your own signature system in place! With a system, you can confidently move your money and make decisions

Today I’m spilling the secrets on my strategy for building your signature money management system! Here are the 3 steps you need to follow to ensure that you have a solid system in place:

Your Signature System

1.Identify your Payday Routine

Every time you get paid, something needs to happen. The worst thing that can happen is to have money just sitting stagnant in your checking account. With a routine in place each time you get paid, you become more in tune with your money and you reduce the risk of dipping into money that should be saved because it’s sitting in your checking out.

A strong payday routine consists of 3 main steps:

1. Identify when you get paid + how frequently

2. Identify if you’ll make manual or automatic transfers

3. Identify how much of your money will go to your accounts. Not sure if you have the right accounts set up? Here’s how I set up mine!

2. Identify your Spending “Rules”

I hate the word rules, but when it comes to value-based + conscious spending, you need to identify your priorities and parameters around where you’re willing to spend money, and where you’re not. This could mean that you focus your spending on travel, or you have no limit with education or self-improvement.

Value-based + conscious spending are spending strategies that align your purchases with the things that are important to you. When you know what those things are, you are able to make smarter spending decisions that improve your life and allow you to maximize your savings. It’s time to stop spending your hard-earned cash on things that you don’t care about!

3. Identify your Follow-up System

The fortune is in the follow-up (literally) and you need to have a regular routine in place for auditing your finances + making adjustments as needed. This is how you build a plan that you stick to + that fits your lifestyle! Whether it be monthly reviews, weekly money dates, payday audits, or some combo of it all, following up and checking in will change your financial future.

I like to build in a few different follow-ups throughout the month, and this keeps me totally in tune with my finances and where I stand. My system includes a weekly money date on Sunday evenings, where I ensure all my expenses are tracked in The Personal Finance Dashboard, as well as take a few minutes to update my spending plan and solidify that I’m on track to reach my goals. I also do a monthly audit, where I evaluate and self-reflect on where I spent my money, and how I plan to change it or adjust going forward.

In Closing

Creating your own signature money management system is critical for financial wellness and success. Successful people don’t wing it, and if you want to start seeing real savings progress, you need to take the time to properly manage your money! We spend 40+ hours a week earning our money, so why is it so hard to spend a few minutes each week managing it? Following this 3-step process to identify your own system is a great way to start taking control of your financial future.