What about my “Fun Money”?

One thing I run across fairly frequently is people who are earning side money or cash and using it as their “fun money”. They will tell me things like:

On the surface this all sounds great, but I'VE GOT NEWS FOR YOU – If you have a side hustle or a job where you make cash, you MOST LIKELY aren’t making the financial progress you could.

All of the above scenarios are good and well if you don't have any debt, don't have any investments you want to make, have all of your upcoming expenses for the year fully funded…and basically are already financially wealthy. But….if this isn't the case, you are hurting your overall financial picture by not having a better system for “what to do” with that money.

Here's the thing. I am NOT saying that I don't want you to have any fun money.

That's not the case at all. In fact, I think it's great to get to give yourself a reward or to have some fun money all for yourself from the side jobs that you do!

What I DON'T like it the blanket statement that all of the side money or cash that you earn becomes your “fun money”. This is just a way to open. This could mean that if you earn $50 or if you earn $5000, it all gets to be your “fun money”. It's basically giving yourself permission to BLOW any extra money you have…all the while you likely have other financial goals that are getting neglected.

You might still be struggling with debt, or feeling frustrated that you don't have the money you want to invest in your business, or go on the vacation you wanted, etc, etc, etc.

I don't want that for you. And I'm sure you don't really want that for you either.

So, what can you do to satisfy the want of having some “fun money” and ALSO know that you are making financial progress along the way?

The challenge with these behaviors and thoughts around money is that you never really know HOW MUCH you have. The amount of money that becomes your “fun money” or “spending money” changes from month to month and you are likely accidentally spending a LOT more than you think you are because you aren’t tracking it.

Let’s think about this.

If you are in a service industry, like waiting tables, bartending, hairdressing, housekeeping, landscaping, tutoring, direct sales, multi-level marketing or various other professions, you are likely accepting at least a portion of your payments in cash.

From one week to the next this amount can vary (sometimes quite greatly). You may have weeks where you don’t make anything in cash and others where you make $1000+. That money likely finds its way to your wallet…but maybe not into your bank account.

Despite all of your best efforts, the money in your wallet becomes what you allow yourself to live on. Which makes this area of life highly variable and completely inconsistent. Some weeks you might feel like you are living the high life, while others you are just scraping by and all the while the progress that is being made towards your financial goals remains fairly stagnant, or moderately consistent at best.

You might be of the mindset that consistent progress towards your financial goals is a good thing, and nothing to worry about…and while it’s not something necessarily a BAD thing, it also isn’t something to be excited about.

What I like to see is EXCITING progress towards your goals. I like to see my clients be surprised and delighted each and every month when their goals are being reached FASTER than they ever dreamed possible. This level of momentum and excitement will never be achieved if your extra cash never makes it into the bank account.

So, how can you make faster progress, but ALSO still feel like you have some fun money along the way?

You plan for it.

YOU be in control of this number. You pick the amount of fun money you will take – even before it happens. This prevents you from backing into the number as you earn money. DECIDE at the beginning of each month, or for each two week period, on a consistent amount of money you are allowing yourself as your “fun money” and then stick to it.

It will look something like this:

Along with this tip, I also recommend creating a similar consistency for the day-to-day spending part of your life.

Determine a consistent amount that you allow yourself for groceries, eating out and other day-to-day spending and take that amount out in cash every 2 weeks (or transfer it into a separate spending account) and then commit to spending ONLY that amount for your two week period.

THEN you can actually start to make a plan for what your financial goals are. Decide at the beginning of each month what goal “anything extra” will be going towards. Then when you earn that extra money you will see yourself moving closer towards that goal with every bit of extra side money you make! Make it a game to see how much extra money you can put towards your goal each and every month!

When you manage finances in this way, even an extra $40 begins to feel exciting! Imagine how great it will feel when you have the weeks and months where you make even more!

Gaining control of your money and making a plan around variable income can sometimes be stressful and overwhelming. If you are ready to take control and start knocking out your financial goals with gusto, I can help you create that plan! Learn more about scheduling your Eureka session today: