Katie

Like we're not talking about a, you know, a billionaire level change here. It wasn't really insurmountable. But the point is you want to get a holistic vision for like, where would I live? How would I eat? How would I travel? I'm going to put some ballpark numbers around the type of life that I really want to live. And then the next time you sit down with that vision in mind.

Now you're sitting down with your data. So that's your spending data from the previous year. That's how much you earned. That's how much you managed to contribute to your savings and investments. And you're basically going to go, okay, I have this vision. Is there anything here that I could actually have right now if I just made slightly different spending decisions? Or...

Now you're sitting down with your data. So that's your spending data from the previous year. That's how much you earned. That's how much you managed to contribute to your savings and investments. And you're basically going to go, okay, I have this vision. Is there anything here that I could actually have right now if I just made slightly different spending decisions? Or...

Now you're sitting down with your data. So that's your spending data from the previous year. That's how much you earned. That's how much you managed to contribute to your savings and investments. And you're basically going to go, okay, I have this vision. Is there anything here that I could actually have right now if I just made slightly different spending decisions? Or...

Okay, in order to save, say, 20% of my income, in order to make these really serious steps toward this vision for my life, I actually have a new salary target. I'm probably not going to spend a whole lot of time worrying about if I'm going out to eat once a week or twice a week. I actually need to focus a lot of the energy on I'm negotiating for a new job, I'm switching companies.

Okay, in order to save, say, 20% of my income, in order to make these really serious steps toward this vision for my life, I actually have a new salary target. I'm probably not going to spend a whole lot of time worrying about if I'm going out to eat once a week or twice a week. I actually need to focus a lot of the energy on I'm negotiating for a new job, I'm switching companies.

Okay, in order to save, say, 20% of my income, in order to make these really serious steps toward this vision for my life, I actually have a new salary target. I'm probably not going to spend a whole lot of time worrying about if I'm going out to eat once a week or twice a week. I actually need to focus a lot of the energy on I'm negotiating for a new job, I'm switching companies.

But the point is you're just going to start connecting the dots between where you are, where you want to be, and it can actually be really, really fun. And the budgeting part, the sitting down and like making the plan part, that comes last because that's just the roadmap to how you're going to make these things happen. And you know what? It might take a while.

But the point is you're just going to start connecting the dots between where you are, where you want to be, and it can actually be really, really fun. And the budgeting part, the sitting down and like making the plan part, that comes last because that's just the roadmap to how you're going to make these things happen. And you know what? It might take a while.

But the point is you're just going to start connecting the dots between where you are, where you want to be, and it can actually be really, really fun. And the budgeting part, the sitting down and like making the plan part, that comes last because that's just the roadmap to how you're going to make these things happen. And you know what? It might take a while.

When I sat down years ago and decided, hey, I actually I want to have more money. Like I am tired of feeling strapped all of the time. I don't think I should be, but I think I want to have more money. It probably took about 18 months. for the changes to really kick in.

When I sat down years ago and decided, hey, I actually I want to have more money. Like I am tired of feeling strapped all of the time. I don't think I should be, but I think I want to have more money. It probably took about 18 months. for the changes to really kick in.

When I sat down years ago and decided, hey, I actually I want to have more money. Like I am tired of feeling strapped all of the time. I don't think I should be, but I think I want to have more money. It probably took about 18 months. for the changes to really kick in.

But you're gonna set your vision, you'll sit down, you're gonna get intimate with your own numbers, and then you're going to start putting pen to paper and making the plan.

But you're gonna set your vision, you'll sit down, you're gonna get intimate with your own numbers, and then you're going to start putting pen to paper and making the plan.

But you're gonna set your vision, you'll sit down, you're gonna get intimate with your own numbers, and then you're going to start putting pen to paper and making the plan.

When I first became interested in personal finance, the most challenging thing was understanding how my current behavior was gonna translate to the future. Like I will never forget my first call with a financial advisor because I asked, Okay, how much should I be trying to save? Like, I just got this job. I'm trying to sign a lease. Can I afford this apartment? Like, I had no idea.

When I first became interested in personal finance, the most challenging thing was understanding how my current behavior was gonna translate to the future. Like I will never forget my first call with a financial advisor because I asked, Okay, how much should I be trying to save? Like, I just got this job. I'm trying to sign a lease. Can I afford this apartment? Like, I had no idea.

When I first became interested in personal finance, the most challenging thing was understanding how my current behavior was gonna translate to the future. Like I will never forget my first call with a financial advisor because I asked, Okay, how much should I be trying to save? Like, I just got this job. I'm trying to sign a lease. Can I afford this apartment? Like, I had no idea.

I didn't have any grasp on what was reasonable or what was too much. And since they were actually insurance salespeople, neither did they, honestly. But I think your personal financial tool, so whether you are using a wealth planner or you are using something else, should be able to do two things for you. Number one, it should give you some scaffolding around which you can build your budget.