How to Treat Your Dollars Like Employees

If your personal finances were actually a company called YOU, Inc. how would you run YOU, Inc.? Would you let your money be spent on frivolous items that didn’t bring you joy, or would you run a tight ship and tell every dollar where to go?

I’ve always been a sucker for articles that started like that. So, sorry, I had to put that in there.

But articles like those and like this one which I recently read at the Frugal Farmer remind me that I need to treat my dollars as employees.

This isn’t a new concept to me. But it is something that I tend to let slip from time to time.

So you might be wondering, how exactly do you treat your dollars like employees?

Let me tell you.

Start with the End in Mind

At the beginning of every month do you know where your money will go or do you just wing it?

I’m going to be one hundred percent honest with you and tell you that I do something in the middle. While I don’t have a strict written budget, my bills don’t really fluctuate. I know what’s ahead of me.

At the same time I use specific sources of income to grow my savings and investments. This ensures that I never miss a month of putting money away for the future. I also set financial savings and income goals at the beginning of each month.

As my income starts to grow I’m going to have to move into a more structured system to ensure that I’m not wasting my money.

Start your months with the end in mind. Create your financial goals and make your budget. Tell your money where it should go before it even enters your bank account.

Spend Your Money According to Your Values

There’s no point of hoarding all of your money. You have one life to live and if money can be used to enhance your life then it should.

I’m not saying that you should go crazy and spend every dollar you have but don’t get so uptight that you refuse to spend any money on yourself.

Spend your money according to your values. Stop thinking about what other people expect from you and instead line up your financial plan with your life goals.

Plan for the Future

No good business forgets to plan for the future. And since you’re in charge of the business of You, Inc. you shouldn’t either.

There’s no one size fits all plan. Take a look at your values, how much money you spend, how much money you’ll need in retirement, and your career or business aspirations and make a plan.

Determine what tasks you need to do to grow your current income and also how much you should sock away each week or month for all of your other financial goals.

Treating your dollars as employees is nothing more than being intentional with your money. It requires self-discipline but if you can manage to use your money as a tool you’ll find financial success.

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