Financial guru Ramit Sethi explains doing this one essential thing before anything else to get your finances in check. He says you’re not going anywhere if you don’t map out and plan your journey. He teaches how to make smart financial choices that will keep your financial house in order. 

The era of technology has paved the way for fintech companies to help users transfer money conveniently and budget money properly. These days, there is no shortage of budgeting apps that range from free to premium services. Budgeting apps such as Mint, YNAB, PocketGuard, or Zeta could keep your finances in order. 

Moreover, you can also find many resources about achieving long-term financial success and security. However, the author of I Will Teach You to Be Rich, Ramit Sethi, says that all these budget and financial apps won’t work if you don’t do one essential step. 

I Will Teach You to Be Rich explores the principles to manage your finances properly and gain control of your future. It details a six-week program that encourages people in their 20s and 30s to live a more fulfilling life with financial security. 

Getting your financial goals straight

The Cut’s Charlotte Cowes interviews Ramit Sethi about financial planning. Sethi claims that people can get too confused about making money-related decisions. He says he gets more than 2,000 messages from people of various socioeconomic backgrounds and ages per day. 

Most of these messages are queries about finances and how to gain control of it to live a comfortable life. Sethi says that most people don’t know the definition of financial success. For example, when he asks clients what financial success is, they respond vaguely with no satisfying answers.

His clients’ definition of financial success would often relate to being able to do whatever they want, getting out of debt, or having a million dollars. However, when pressed for reasons of how they came up with these, his clients couldn’t answer. 

More often than not, people think about taking control of their money after graduating from college, getting married, getting divorced, having children, or getting a new job. Sethi claims that this reckoning is due to external factors and never internal ones. 

For instance, not many people wake up one day and say, “I want to regain control of my finances.” Instead, it’s always about these external events in one’s life that pushes people to think about managing their money. 

When this epiphany happens, most people who complain about personal finances probably have never read a book on personal finances. According to Sethi, the secret ingredient to achieving financial success is competence. You have to learn the ins and outs of the language of money. Unfortunately, money is talked about restrictively and unappealingly. 

The ONLY one question to ask to improve personal finance

Sethi says that these vague answers might be for fear of not living a comfortable life or a sense of obligation. These answers don’t motivate anyone from start to finish. But it’s how you plan a creative vision that allows you to make smart financial choices. 

Let your dreams push you towards better money management. So before tackling the basics of financial planning, ask yourself this one question:

“What does the rich life look like to me?”

Sethi advises being more specific on your visions in life. The more detailed and sensory your responses are, the more precise the path to financial success.

There is plenty of great personal advice out there. But how do you figure out whether or not it applies to you? Jason Stauffer, a NextAdvisor reporter, shares that there’s no single tip or money hack that will instantly turn your life around. However, some principles can guide you towards achieving your goals. You will need to find a way to apply them to your unique status or situation. So, here are the best personal finance tips to use.

Five Best Personal Finance Tips By Jason Stauffer

1. Budgeting Is More Than Just Managing Money

Stauffer said that his budget was a personalized spreadsheet he constantly updated for many years. It was part of his dream of becoming a young Warren Buffet. However, that budget rarely helped him feel less stressed about money.

During his early stint at NextAdvisor, Stauffer discovered zero-based budgeting or ZBB. Once he and his wife started to apply the method, they started saving more and feeling less anxious about money. A reasonable budget should manage your expenses and your emotional relationship with money. 

With ZBB, every money that comes in is assigned to a specific purpose. They allocated funds to pay for rent, cellphone, and other expenses. Aside from that, they also allot money for more than their current bills. This strategy helped them pay off student loans sooner than scheduled. 

ZBB also helped the couple build an emergency fund. For example, when their cat needed a $2,000 emergency surgery, they already have that amount available. Without sufficient emergency funds, it would have been a hindrance to their goals. 

The zero-based budgeting app called You Need a Budget (YNAB) has effectively turned credit cards into debit cards.

If you want to explore ZBB, YNAB is a great place to start. But take note, the app is not free. There are lots of free or cheap ZBB templates available. And ZBB isn’t the only budgeting approach that works. As you explore different budgeting methods, focus on why you want a budget. 

2. Prioritize Income Over Expenses

Some people have paid off their mortgage in less than six years and settled six-figure sums of debt. One common factor for these success stories is they constantly find ways to make more money. They engage in side hustle businesses or find better-paying jobs. Still, having a budget that works is the first step towards achieving goals. 

Stauffer also shared that they are expecting their first child, and it is as vital as ever to increase household income. His wife is considering a transition from freelance to a full-time world, which would provide a more stable income. From there, they might also explore other side hustle opportunities. 

Starting a freelance or side hustle might not be as challenging as you perceive. Chances are you already have hobbies and talents you could utilize or develop to augment your income. 

3. Learn To Negotiate

The idea of negotiating has always been overwhelming, but it’s one of the best personal finance tips to use. In reality, dealing is usually as simple as asking for what you want. Thinking about a good offer sometimes includes offering something of value in return. 

Any method of negotiation is better than no negotiation at all. Find an approach that could assist you in doing it and become more comfortable. You could try making an indirect request and evaluate if it is easier for you. 

4. Be Patient and Consistent

Transforming the status of your finances takes time. Almost all financial success stories are prefaced by a long learning period and establishing momentum. Whether learning to code before becoming a tech entrepreneur or saving up for a downpayment on a house or property, significant changes take time. 

If you can only take small steps, focus on taking small steps. It can be not easy seeing how fast everyone else moves or progresses. What’s not seen is how much time it took them to develop the speed you’re seeing. 

5. Future Homeowners: Ask About a Zero Mortgage

The most overlooked strategy Stauffer encountered for reducing your mortgage cost is to ask for lender credits instead of a higher interest rate. The credits would be used to settle the loan fee portion of your closing costs in this situation. With a zero-cost mortgage, you’d be paying a reduced amount every time you buy a home or refinance.

When researching lenders, always ask if they have a zero-cost loan option. Then, compare your options and see which one applies to you.

Global records show that the world throws out 1.3 billion tons of food a year. That’s one-third of all the food that we produce every year. That’s a lot of resources that we throw out. Considering it can save money, it’s a surprise we haven’t learned how to stop wasting food.

With the amount of food that we are producing, you would think that it would make everyone have access to free food. 

Having better practices at home can significantly reduce our food waste. But more than that, it is a collective action that communities and governments can work together to solve. With that, here’s how to stop wasting food at home. 

Maximize your fridge and freezer

One of the best ways to avoid wastage of food is to just freeze items in bulk. Grocery days can be pretty overwhelming, especially when restocking your fridge with food items. This causes pretty large amounts of fresh produce to go bad. You can par-cook most vegetables and store them in bulk in the freezer; it will help them last for weeks or months longer. 

On the other hand, before stocking up on food, make sure to check if your fridge is at the right temperature. For those wondering, fridges should operate below 5 degrees Celsius. 

Lose the plastic wrap

Contrary to what supermarkets make us believe, plastic wraps on food do not keep fresh for longer. In fact, it not only brings the illusion of freshness, but it also brings unnecessary trash into our homes. Apart from that, It also makes us buy more than we need. 

Buying fresh produce can help you better manage the food you’re taking home. Now, this does not only help you lessen food waste, but it also enables you to avoid plastic in your daily life.  

Organize your pantry

Part of learning how to stop wasting food is also being more mindful of our decisions. Keeping track of dates and planning your meals even before going to the market are ways to cut down on food waste. Also, try to look for recipes where you can use your grocery haul to the fullest. 

Keeping your pantry visually organized also helps too. Try to keep items that perish earlier in places where you can easily see them. This way, you’ll be less likely to forget what items you have in your pantry. 

Finally, you can plan your meals and explore new recipes to ensure that your pantry is thoroughly cleaned out. Try looking for pantry pasta recipes or other creative dishes that will use up your remaining produce. 

Learn your dates

It also pays to learn the difference between use-by and best before dates. Use-by dates mean that the product will be unsafe to consume after the date. Meanwhile, best-by dates are more of a measure of quality.

More than dumping food based on packaging dates, it may be high time to consider doing sniff tests. Look, smell, and taste your produce before throwing it out. 

Leverage food apps and online communities

Install a mobile app to help you connect with communities and people trying to learn how to stop wasting food. It’s a great tip for how to stop wasting food at school. If your school cafeteria provides lunches, then leftovers can be donated to communities where there’s a shortage of food. The same goes for individuals looking for someone to help them take food off their hands. 

There are many ways how to stop wasting food. Whether it’s by starting at home or changing grocery habits, there are definitely different means to be involved in solving the food waste issue.

And for other how-tos and stories, read more here at Owner’s Mag!