Christmas or broke

Welcome to today's issue of The Daily Dose of Motivational Medicine. The e-zine of Motivateme: Breaking the Procrastination Habit. http://www.motivateme.info. Have you signed up for your daily dose yet?
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I hope this finds you well and enjoying the mid point of the week.
 
I've taken today off work because the stray cat that seems to have adopted us woke me up at 2am this morning, demanding to be let in...she was in distress and needed comfort....the three reasons appeared about 7am this morning. Needless to say I needed to get certain things for the new mother, thankfully I also have a very understanding boss. Having spoken to the vet I can't get her "seen to" for a couple of months, so I hope she enjoys being an indoor cat from now on.
 
Anyway, todays enforced home stay has allowed me to make huge inroads into my cleaning, sorting and tidying that I decided needed to be done. I can't believe how much clutter there is in my house. And I didn't think I was a hoarder. But I do seem to collect paper clippings, printouts of useful stuff (or so I think at the time) and books of every genre. Well my bookcase is looking much better, unfortunately I still have a lot to do, so had best get on I suppose.
 
But one of the things on my list and the thing I really wanted to talk to you about today is Christmas. Do you plan Christmas ahead of time, or do you hope that your next pay cheque will have enough left over to buy some gifts? Or is your credit card going to get severely bent between now and then?
 
Part of the problem I have found with regards to Procrastination and Motivation is money. Some people find that having nothing in the bank would be the best incentive to get out there and do something about it..."I've had it with being broke" whereas other people pretend it isn't happening and continue to overspend.
 
Do you know what the first rule of wealth creation is ?
 
Believe it or not, it's quite simple - spend less than you earn. Given that the mortgage rates have just gone up again, petrol prices have a nasty habit of rising with the whim of the petrol station owners, it becomes harder to budget. But unless you get on top of it now, you will stress and worry over the christmas break and you will not enjoy the "silly season".
 
The first stage in getting on top of your budget (and apologies if you already know this) is to know what you are spending your money on.
 
Get out your bank statements from the last 12 months or so and break them down....what do you pay weekly, fortnightly, monthly, yearly etc etc....
What do you receive as payment? Take one away from the other and you will have some idea of whether you have a shortfall or not. Then you need to keep an eye on the bits and pieces that you buy without thinking twice about....do you buy coffee on the way to work? Multiply it by a week, fortnight, year and you will begin to see that tiny decisions over time can equal quite a lot of money at the end of the year.
 
Am I advocating that you don't buy coffee (or whatever you buy) ? Of course not, just asking you to be aware of what you are buying today can make a huge difference at the end of the year.
 
BTW - $3.00 (average cost per cup of coffee) x 5 days in a working week x 48 weeks in a working year = $720
 
What could you do with an extra $720 in your pocket at this time of year?
 
p.s. if you know of anyone who would like a kitten in about 6 weeks can you let me know
Thx
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