Taking control of your finances may require taking a long hard look at how you relate to money and what is of importance to you. Many of us may find ourselves in a financial pinch from time to time, but it should not be a regular occurrence. In everything there must be balance, and if you are not ready to move the needle within your finances and address root-cause issues, you will have a challenge moving forward and beginning generational wealth.

I know all too well. Becoming financially savvy was an extremely hard road for me. I did not grow up in a household where we discussed money or how it works. In fact, I did not have a clue. These poor financial habits spilled into adulthood and I paid a heavy penalty. The penalties came in the form of late payments, bounced checks, poor credit scores and a car repossession, to name a few. These poor decisions impacted my credit scores and haunted me for years.

I realized I was stuck in a financial rut. I could not move forward and in fact was moving backwards. I came to the realization that I had to identify the root-cause issues behind my poor financial decisions. Through this deep search of self-discovery, several things were revealed. One, I determined that shopping made me feel good. I found myself shopping when I was sad or depressed. Next, I had grown up in a state of lack and I promised myself that when I started earning money I would buy whatever I wanted, failing to realize I was living in the moment and failing to plan for the future. What a hard lesson to be learned—I had to play catch-up for the years that I lost. Lastly, I did not have an understanding of money or how it works. See, money is neither good nor bad, the trouble is in the emotions that we as people attach to the money. Someone once said money is like an unruly kid; either you will be in control or it will definitely control you. The following are several things I had to learn about money before I could bring about financial change in my life.

Control Credit and Debit Card Use
Leave credit and debit cards at home if you are not disciplined. If you have a habit of emotional shopping, a great idea is to leave your cards at home. Get in the habit of keeping a small amount of cash with you. If you do make a purchase you can only spend the cash you have on hand.

Diversify Bank Accounts
Open more than one bank account—one for your bills and another for savings. I would suggest you open the bank account for savings at a bank or credit union that is inconveniently located, and without a debit card. Why is this important? If you have both accounts at the same bank you can easily transfer funds back and forth between the two accounts. On the other hand, if you need funds from your savings account and you do not have a debit card attached to the account, you must drive to the location and retrieve funds.

Track Spending
Track your spending habits for a week, or view your bank history for the last week. You can easily determine what is important to you. If you find you are spending a disproportionate amount of funds in a specific area, cut back. As an example, if you are eating out four times a week, eat out only twice within a week and create meals around what you have at home. Dining out can eat up a large portion of your budget.

Create a Budget That Works for You
Budgets may scare many people, but understand they are absolutely necessary. Think of a budget as a family plan or your “planning for the future” strategy. Again, track your spending and write down all of your expenses for the month. I recommend you write your initial budget in pencil. Once you pay the bill, write the “actual” amount in pen. It is imperative you revisit your budget and track your estimates and actual costs. Only then will you have a grasp of what you are spending.

Negotiate With Creditors
If you find yourself facing a financial hardship, contact your creditors. Creditors can add months of your bill to the end of your loan (credit cards, utilities, student loans, car payments and mortgage payments) and they will report on-time payments over the deferred period.

If you have recurring debt and are constantly making poor financial decisions, I challenge you to be introspective. This advice is not for people that were impacted by the coronavirus, because the impact has been devastating, but for those who had ongoing issues pre-pandemic. Take this time to determine the “why” behind your financial choices. The decisions you make financially can impact your family for generations to come. Are you up for the challenge? Your future generations are counting on you to make great financial choices today.