Once a month, when I get paid, I do these nine things that help me stay on track with my financial goals.



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Chapters

00:00 Start Here
00:55 Track All My Spending
01:59 Analyze My Spending
04:19 Max Out 401K Match
05:16 Contribute To Roth IRA
06:13 Contribute To My Emergency Fund
07:16 Pay My Monthly Bills
08:29 Make Extra Payments Towards High Interest Debt
09:42 Invest With A Brokerage Account
10:55 Look At The Big Picture


The key to staying on top of your finances is developing a payday routine of things you do every time you get paid. In this video, I share my own payday routine that consists of 9 things I do once a month, every time I get paid.

1. Track All My Spending

At the beginning of each month, I will take some time to record all of my spending the previous month on a spreadsheet. Taking the time to track your spending is the key to getting and staying in a good financial situation because it allows you to see the full picture of your finances.

2. Analyze My Spending

Once I track and record all of my expenses on the spreadsheet, the next thing I do is take 10 to 20 minutes to analyze my spending that month. There are three main things I look at: (1) my income vs spending, (2) if there is any abnormal spending I did, and (3) if I over spent in any area. When I take the time to look at these things, I can see if I went over budget and make changes for the next month's spending.

3. Max Out 401K Match

Before I get paid, at least when I was employed with a company, I would always max out my 401k match that my employer offered. For example, if my employer matched up to 5% of my salary, then I would contribute 5% to my salary to my 401k. Doing this allowed me to maximize free money from my employer.

4. Contribute To Roth IRA

Once my paycheck hits my checking account, the first thing I always do is move an amount over to my Roth IRA. Each year I attempt to max out the yearly Roth IRA contribution.

5. Contribute To My Emergency Fund

After I contribute a certain amount of my paycheck to my Roth IRA, the next thing I do is contribute a certain amount of money to my emergency fund, which is called, "Paying Yourself First." It is important to do this before you pay your bills in order to maximize the amount of money you are saving and stay on track with your financial goals.

6. Pay My Monthly Bills

Next, I will sit down and pay all of my bills in one sitting. The majority of my bills are set up on auto pay; however, I still take the time to make sure each bill is paid in case a payment did not go through. Taking the time to pay all my bills in one sitting allows me to not have to worry the rest of the month about bills.

7. Make Extra Payments Towards High Interest Debt

After all the previous steps, if you have money left over, you can use some of that to make extra payments towards high interest debt like credit card debt. Paying off debt is important because the interest you are paying is more than likely higher than any returns you will get from the stock market or other investments.

8. Invest With A Brokerage Account

If you have an emergency fund of 612 months of living expenses and no debt, the next step you should consider taking is investing with a brokerage account. If you continue putting money in a savings account, over time your money will lose value due to low interest rates of savings accounts and inflation. Investing in low cost index funds are a great way to grow your money and beat inflation.

9. Look At The Big Picture

Finally, once I do all the previous steps, the last thing I do before I finish my payday routine is simply zoom out and look at the big picture of my finances. I find it important, regardless of what situation you are in, to give yourself credit of your accomplishments and see how far you have come.

**This video is intended for entertainment purposes only, none of it should be interpreted as financial advice. Links above are affiliate links where if you click and order, I will receive a commission at no cost to you. **