Sunday, January 9, 2011

30-Day Challenge: Update 1/9

I deeply respect other get out of debt way-showers who have demonstrated a high principle of openness and transparency, such as Man vs. Debt's Radical Financial Transparency. I found his example to be both inspiring and an invaluable great learning tool.

So... after my first 3 days of “Logging What I Spent”:









I observed myself spending less on groceries this weekend. I checked my bank balance before i went to the store and estimated what i could spend. Knowing i would get paid on Monday, I decided to hold off on buying the extras that i love but are not a necessity. This way i could keep a comfortable cushion in my bank account. It felt quite empowering to be consciously checking before spending!!!

Also I noticed at the beginning of the month with rent and utilities there are more expenses then income, seeing this also helped me to slow my spending on non-essentials.

I encourage others on the program to post your comments on your awarenesses, observations, learnings, wins, challenges or anything else you want to share or ask.

Maintaining a neutral place within while watching your actions will help you make more self-empowering choices and help you move out of negative habits sooner and ease-fully. You can make mistakes and learn from them without beating yourself up about it!!

Thursday, January 6, 2011

30 Day CHALLENGE- Log What You Spent

In the spirit of transforming in the New Year, I propose a challenge to everyone who wants to partake…

In the spirit of making a difference in our lives and in our world, for the next 30-days let's track our daily expenses vs. income and calculate the net for the month…

This is a practice of bringing heightened awareness to how you are relating to the money you already have, so that we know definitively what we are doing, observe the trends/habits/addictions, and move into a balanced budget where we begin touching our dreams.

1. Every day write down in a log, excel spreadsheet or quicken what you spent money on and what you made (when applicable).

2. Determine whether you are positive or negative

3. Check off the days on a calendar

4. Email me (or post a comment) each week as your progress, hit snags, rough patches. The trick is to keep picking yourself back up.

Tips: you can keep a little note pad or keep your receipts so you can remind yourself at the end of the day what you spent. Don't take it too seriously, have fun!, watch what shows up. Invite a friend to do this with you or share this with them and ask them to hold you accountable.

Honoring your commitments to your self is ground zero for so many things in life. Personal Integrity is the life spring of lasting peace and joy!

If you want a sample spreadsheet and/or financial sobriety worksheet email me at: info@thegreenbookkeeper.com

If you have any other tips or questions please email or post as a comment on the blog.

This can work for your personal finances and/or your business to bring you into greater awareness and transition you into making conscious choices that better serve your higher goals, dreams, family, community and on outward.

The greatest need in our financial system is oversight and accountability and that starts from the bottom up. We can make more with less, live brighter lives more simply, together, free of all the poor habits that no longer serves us.

Blessings ahead… Tye Kirk

PS. One of the greatest obstacles is the rationalization/misbelief that we will start saving when we get more money. As reported in The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley- that rarely ever happens. Start today with what you already have and build the habits and practices that lift you out of this what Paul Krugman recently referred to as "Deep Hole Economics".