This post is in partnership with Lexington Law, thank you for supporting brands who support TCM. As always, all thoughts, opinions, experience, and advice is my own.
Raise your hand if you're feeling extra broke AF right about now?!
Between the holiday shopping, all the extra parties and festivities, travel and, well, just general life expenses (hello student loans!) it's easy to wonder if you'll ever get ahead financially. Or if that pang of fear and anxiety will ever dissipate when you look at your bank account, amiright?! But stress no more, today I'm rounding up…
8 Ways To Stop Feeling Broke
Practice Gratitude
The reality is, if you have clothes on your back, food on your table, and a roof over your head you're doing better than the majority of people on this earth. I saw this post on Instagram – and while I definitely didn't fact check it, it does put things in perspective:
An attitude of gratitude can drastically shift how you view your daily life. Good bye are the days of FOMO, or buying things because you're trying to fill a void or get someone on the same page as you. Last month E and I did a podcast episode on gratitude and we shared why we don't get each other gifts (and how to handle gift giving in the family in general) plus 6 other ways to cultivate gratitude in your life, highly recommend giving it a listen here! I also put together a 30 day gratitude challenge if you're looking to step this up in your life.
Educate yourself
Most Americans are actually in debt not because they *need* to be, but because they are living in the dark when it comes to their finances. You know exactly what I'm talking about – it's the entire concept that the unknown is scarier than it actually ends up being. The same applies to our finances. For many, if you can get past that initial fear, you'll see just how easy it is. I've broken down tips for improving your credit score and repaying debt to get you started.
Work with a professional
Sometimes it takes actually investing in yourself in order to stop feeling broke instead of continually feeling things out in the dark while throwing money down the drain. That's where my friends at Lexington Law come in. Lexington Law is a firm of credit repair professionals that help their clients take action, educate themselves, and repair their credit. Seriously, they did 10 million removals in 2017! If you're feeling broke because you can't get ahead financially, working with a professional to repair your credit and understand your finances can go a long way. You can call them for a free credit repair consultation here.
Know your worth
If you keep working in a job that under pays and under values you, you'll keep feeling broke no matter how much you're making because you'll keep feeling like you aren't good enough. Knowing your worth can shift your mindset and your earning potential. It can be the difference between feeling broke forever and feeling richer than you can even dream of right now. If you feel like you aren't being compensated fairly, that's great. Figure out what would make you feel valued and worthy and then reverse engineer how you plan to get there. Sure, money can sometimes randomly find its way to you, but that's not consistent. It's up to you to go out there and continually attract your worth in a steady, abundant stream.
Create a budget & stick to it
#REALTALK: A major reason you are probably feeling broke is probably due to the fact you don't have total clarity about where your money is going! I know I just mentioned this, but it's really that important for you to hear me when I say it and to recognize that you may very well be in this majority. Before you digitally punch me in the face through your computer screen and get all defensive, hear me out.
The majority of Americans are living in financial chaos – meaning they don't know where their money is going or how a lot of things even work in the financial world. Seriously – I polled you guys on my Insta-stories a while back to see how you did against the top 10 money myths most people are getting wrong, and most of you got them wrong! There's NO shame in this. In fact, count it as a blessing – it means there's some easy things you can do to get on track. Like creating a budget and actually sticking to it. Budgeting doesn't need to be some crazy difficult spreadsheet with a million categories – you can boil it down to as little as three numbers using the 50/20/30 guideline which you can read about here. A three number budget is hella' easy to stick to!
Check your credit regularly
I've said it before but: clarity when it comes to your finances is key! Pulling your credit report annually from annualcreditreport.com is so important! Yes, using credit monitoring or reporting services are a great idea throughout the year, but to actually review your report annually is essential. It gives you a chance to see what potential lenders are viewing, catch any incorrect information, and verify your identity hasn't been compromised.
If you're looking to skip this step, it's another great reason to work with the professionals at Lexington Law Firm. They can review your credit report and you can sign up for their Lex OnTrack Identity Theft Protection Tool which allows you to track your FICO® Score while monitoring your identity 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They alert you of suspicious activity and provide $1 million in identity theft insurances – which includes any stolen funds and cash reimbursement. Lex OnTrack aims prevent it identity theft, but just in case it happens to you, they help remove any questionable negative items from your credit report.
Start saying “no”
Repeat after me: “No” is a complete sentence.
Seriously though, if you don't want to travel or go to a big dinner with friends or family, you can say no. You'll probably be happier and ultimately feel richer for it too since you aren't shelling out money on something you're secretly resenting otherwise. If you are sick of giving gifts to someone because you know they *always* just regift you, tell them you want to start a new rule of no gifts, just quality time together. Look at what resentments have been cropping up for you and set a boundary around them by using “no” as a complete sentence to set yourself up for a life you actually love.
Do a no-spend challenge
If you have debt or just feel like your spending is out of control I'd highly recommend doing a no-spend challenge. Personally, my no spend challenge went from the originally intended 30 days to 3 years! I share about it all in this video. It's a way to both get ahead financially and transform your relationship to money and things.
