Step: Get Your Life Together...

[Christina Edmunds]

Hi all,

I've been doing some poking around these forums and I'm finally doing the introduction. I go by Christina, currently living in Cincinnati, OH (Hamilton) and I was listening to the 200th podcast that inspired me to write this post. I've been listening to podcasts, getting a bunch of books and reading for about two months now I'd say.

Here's where I'm at: 

I didn't know anything about finances when I moved out a little over a year ago. Ended up renting a $1,400 rent apartment on a entry-level software developer's budget in Newport, KY. lol, lesson learned. Just moved into an apartment for $940-- still a very nice place but much easier on the wallet.

Currently, yes, I am living paycheck-to-paycheck, and my savings will be about $1.6k come this Friday. Expensive apartment + caring for my boyfriend who'd been very, very ill ate up a ton of expenses. I fully intend to change that with the much more affordable rent. I've also been keeping track of my budget, and am going to try soon to make more adjustments to free up even more money. I am aware of my financial weaknesses and am working on them.

That being said: when would be a good time to continue on to the next steps? Obviously it will take some significant time to build up the safety net and I don't really want to wait around for another year or half a year just sitting and twiddling my thumbs. I'm eager to get started, and I've already determined I want to do BRRRR (which as I understand, if I play my cards right, should cost me no out of pocket money).

Should I just focus on minimizing expenses as much as I can to get that safety net quicker? Or should I just continue on? What do you think?

[Whitney Hutten]

@Christina Edmunds Great start!  Saving is only part of the equation though.  The other lever to pull is to increase your income.  You can do this through your current job, changing jobs, or even adding in a side hustle.  If you can pull the savings lever and the income lever this will accelerate your capital growth.  This is the hard work that most "overnight successes" have done that others don't see or appreciate!  So good for you for realizing this :)

Next, once you have your financial foundation built, start investing in assets that pay you cashflow and appreciation... the asset then acts as another savings and income vehicle... This is how you grow exponentially!