Brooke - 31 Days to Radically Reduce Your Expenses: Less Stress. More Savings.

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COPYRIGHT

31 Days to Radically Reduce Your Expenses: Less Stress. More Savings

Kalyn Brooke | CreativeSavingsBlog.com

Copyright 2016

All Rights Reserved.

No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without prior written consent from the author.

ISBN 978-0-9971376-0-6 {Paperback}

ISBN 978-0-9971376-1-3 {Digital}

Disclaimer:

The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

Due to the dynamic nature of the Internet, certain links and website information contained in this publication may have changed. The author and publisher make no representations to the current accuracy of the web information shared.

Published by KB Creative Media

Janna Madsen, Editor

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INTRODUCTION

By far, the biggest budgeting challenge is learning how to spend less. Not just in the little things here and therewe can easily skip buying a latte, cute top, or new throw pillow with some semblance of self-control, but its also learning how to save on the big things too, like housing payments, utility bills, and those dreaded insurance premiums!

Its quite overwhelming when you start to think about how many things you actually pay for. Every year, it seems my own budget grows larger just to accommodate all the extra things weve added to it. Theres always a new subscription service to try, a monthly membership to add, or a brand new dcor piece begging you to take it home. But hey, at least were budgeting for it, right?

The problem is, with all these costs eating up the majority of our income, theres very little left over to put towards something greater down the road. Were sacrificing future opportunities and savings goals in exchange for the most demanding needs and wants right now. Not to mention the unexpected medical bills and major repairs that happen at the worst time possible.

I cant even begin to tell you how many times weve had a water heater break the same week we replaced the tires on our car, and then on top of that, we find a leak under the sink from a faucet my husband Joseph just repaired. It sends us right back to the starting line, sometimes further behind than when we first began, and yes, its totally frustrating! Especially when we have a mortgage to pay and food to put on the table on top of everything else.

Thats why its so important to make sure these necessary expensesthe bills you absolutely must payare also the least stressful. Because if we dont pay attention to how much we spend on the things we need , well never make room for the things we actually want .

A LIFE-CHANGING PRINCIPLE

Its awfully easy to look at your income and argue that life would be easier if you just made a little bit more. And it mightfor a single moment. But have you ever heard of Parkinsons Law? In technical terms, this principle says that work expands to fill the time available for its completion. In more basic language, it means the time spent is equal to what you have.

When we apply Parkinsons Law in a financial sense, we see that higher income often leads to higher expenses. Not because we intentionally set out to spend more, instead the extra money in our pocket gives us a false sense of security and more of a reason not to care. Why hold back when you have enough to afford it anyway?

But truthfully, more income doesnt solve the underlying issue. The idea of more means were not content with what we have, and we dont believe that its quite enough. When in reality, we already have everything we could possibly need. We just need to learn how to handle it in a completely different way.

So heres a question for youinstead of viewing your expenses as a frustration, what if you used them as motivation to manage what you already have, even better ?

Just think of the savings potential! So much of our money washes away because we secretly believe the price of goods and services we pay for is unchangeable. When in reality, weve had the power all along to make this change ourselves. It starts with plugging up those tiny cracksour monthly expensesthat if left unattended, can turn into some pretty big leaks.

IF YOUVE ALREADY SACRIFICED SO MUCH

For some of you, your budget is already stretched as far as it can go, and you struggle with not knowing what else to cut. How do you manage your money when theres not much of it to manage in the first place? This is an incredibly hard place to betrust me, I know! Ive experienced my fair share of really hard times over the years, and its overwhelming, stressful, and frustrating to say the least.

In fact, while I was writing this book, Joseph and I experienced one of the most trying years of our marriage. We had our first job loss, months of vacancy on the house we rent out in Upstate NY, and an expensive hospital bill that took us months to pay off. I say all that not for you to feel bad for us, but because it forced us to look at our budget, cut out a lot of unnecessary items, and really put into practice everything I talk about in the coming pages.

While a hard financial situation can feel paralyzing at the moment, nows the time when its most crucial to act. You have to form a plan. For us, we methodically went through all of our expenses, one by one, to see what would make the biggest difference. We trimmed a lot of fat, found a few leaks, and lowered bills that we previously thought would barely make a dent. Because of this experience, I truly believe every expense always deserves a second look!

Think about thishow would your life change if:

• You shaved an extra $75 a month off your grocery bill?
• You found an extra $40 a month by switching phone carriers?
• You whittled down your car insurance by $25 a month with one simple phone call?

This is the potential 31 Days to Radically Reduce Your Expenses has in store for you. And this time, you dont have to do it alone. Over the next 31 days, well walk through every single part of your budget together, take a hard look at what youre currently spending, and explore the tools and resources to change them for the bettereven if you already think theyre as low as they can go!

HOW TO READ THIS BOOK

Although the title suggests that you complete a chapter a day, one of the best parts about this book is that theres no requirement on how much time you spend on each section! You can read it from start to finish, or jump around based on the biggest expense or pain point youre experiencing right now. Then once you have at least one expense under control, choose another, and another, until youve lowered everything you possibly can.

I strongly suggest you have a highlighter and pen nearby. This isnt a book that you pick up, read, and never interact with or reference again. Remember, this is your expense-reducing guidebook! Each chapter has three action steps you can take right away, plus links to plenty of other resources to help support your journey.

I also encourage you to share your progress on social media using the hashtag #ReduceYourExpenses. Share a favorite tip or quote, and by all means, let me know how much you save! You never know who you might inspire to try 31 Days themselves.

One last thing before we dive inwhat you put into this process is what youll ultimately get out of it. So if reducing your expenses in a radical way is important to you, take my suggestions, tips, and tricks, and put them into action as soon as you can. Youre the one that has the power to make lasting change, and with this info-packed tool in your hands, youre going to be unstoppable!