Becoming a Money Master

On Monday, I mentioned that I want to optimize my personal finances and then increase my income. I want to become a Money Master.

What is a Money Master?

A Money Master is someone who is in control of their finances without requiring a lot of maintenance time each month. They know how much income they have, outgo they spend, and know how much they can spend on anything that they please. Ideally, they are debt free, or at least actively working toward that goal.

Where I stand

I have a good start to being a Money Master, but still have many improvements to make to my personal finance system. My finance tracker has helped me a great deal, though I have recently switched over to mint.com (because they automatically pull my information and I don’t have to enter it manually).

  • It takes less than a hour a month to manage my finances.
  • I know roughly how much income I have each month.
  • On average, I know how much outgo I have.
  • I have only school debt, and a plan to pay it down as soon as I graduate.

Improvements to make

The good start above can be improved further, so that I can become a Money Master.

  • My finances can be further automated, so that my bills will be paid even when I am away on vacation.
  • I can find an account that offers higher interest rates than I currently have.
  • My budget can be tweaked to make it less complicated.
    Last but not least…
  • I can earn more money

Join me!

Over the next few weeks I will be applying what I know about personal finance. Knowledge gleaned from books like I Will Teach You To Be Rich, The Total Money Makeover, and Financial Peace will be put to use. I will have a finance system that will require almost no time each month, but will ensure my bills are paid, savings are growing, investments are also growing, debt is being paid off, and that I have money left over to spend however I want.

Let me know if you’re going to join me!