It would feel good to always have enough money. You wouldn’t have to worry about if you could live life the way you wanted because you would always have enough money.

Having enough of anything is always a good place to be. When you have enough you are satisfied and fulfilled. Who doesn’t want to feel satisfied? Especially, with money.

This is completely possible. Applying some simple concepts to your life will allow you to always have enough money.

Define Enough

The First thing you have to do to ensure you always have enough money is to define what enough means.

Enough to me is not the same as enough to you. 

Maybe you just want enough money to cover your bills. Or, you could want enough to eat out three nights a week and to go get your nails done. 

There are many ways you could define enough and you need to figure out what your definition is. There isn’t a right or wrong definition either. Each individuals thoughts and wants out of life will help define what enough money is to them. 

Without a clear definition you won’t be able to ensure you have enough. You can’t reach something if you don’t know what it is. 

This may also be a fluid number through your life. You may obtain a lifestyle where you can spend money in a more extravagant way but be unhappy with the work you are doing. You may decide that enough money is not having the means to spend money in that way but will enable you to work a more fulfilling job. 

After you have defined what having enough money means to you you can start making sure you always have enough money. 

Live Below Your Means

You have a certain amount of money in income that you take home each month. Where you are getting that money is not the focus. How much you are bringing in should be. 

When you are spending more money than you get each month you will deplete your money. Instead of having enough money you will always be behind.

Now many people will say well I can’t live below my means because I don’t have enough money to cover what I need to. There are a few ways to handle this situation.

The first option is you continue to do nothing about it and remain in the same situation.

You assess where you are spending your money and make adjustments to make it so you do have enough money.

Another option is you find additional streams of income to increase the money you have enabling you to have enough money.

There are many people who are in the same situation. The ones that turn it around are not special. They just put in the work and make the decisions to ensure that they can turn their money situation around.

Know Where You Are Spending Your Money

Budgets can be great tools for a lot of people but they don’t always work for everyone. It makes some people feel restricted. 

You do not have to have a budget to know where you are spending your money. Bank statements and credit card statements show exactly where you spent money. If, you use cash you could write it in a notebook or put it in an excel spreadsheet.

Having somewhere you can look at where you are spending your money is critical. You cannot change things that you cannot assess.

Taking a look at where you are spending your money is a real eye opener. Some things add up quicker than you think. Getting a daily coffee at the drive thru could be keeping you from being able to afford the car you want.

One thing not to do when you start looking at where you spend your money is being harsh on yourself. Being aware is the first step to changing it.

Avoid Life Style Creep

Now that you are living below your means you probably have a cushion of money to save or invest. People may consider this extra money each month. It becomes tempting to spend that money knowing you have it. 

This can happen gradually, maybe you want a new car and adjust what you are saving to increase your car payment by $50 a month. Or there are a lot of great new restaurants in the area so you eat out a few more times than what you allotted. All of sudden all the extra money has diminished to nothing. 

Lifestyle creep can happen when you try to keep up with what other people are doing around you. Comparison is a killer to so many things and will definitely squash your idea of having enough money if you don’t watch out for it.

Have a Waiting Period

Large purchases should be considered due to the impact that they can have on your financial position. 

Set a period of a time for you to mull over large purchases. Now what dictates a large purchase is going to depend on your particular financial position. Find a dollar amount that makes sense to you and everything that would go over that amount implement a waiting period. 

During the waiting period do a bit of research on the product. See if there is any alternatives or a better version. Consider if it the purchase makes sense for you. You may find that after thinking about it for a couple of days that the initial excitement about it doesn’t stick around.  

This will help you from having buyers remorse or spending all your money on something that could have waited when you really needed to pay for your insurance. 

I like to have a waiting period for anything that will impact my life in a major way. I put my finances into that bracket. 

Wants vs. Needs

I need this. But do you really? Do you really need your third latte of the day or the new purse from your favorite designer when you already own three others? 

Wants are things that are not necessary for you to continue living. 

Needs are what you need to survive. 

Now, I am all for spending money on things you enjoy and that make you happy. I am definitely not telling you that you need to stop doing that. 

But, you need to be aware if it is truly a want or a need. A good example is what you put in your grocery cart. You may want an avocado but you don’t truly need it. 

This is a hard concept for many people so don’t beat yourself up if you struggle with it. 

To really evaluate if you are spending money on wants vs. needs is to ask yourself a simple question before you do it. Ask yourself, what will happen if I don’t buy this? Now if it will cause a true catastrophic event then you may need it but odds are most things are wants and you can go without.

Final Thoughts

You can have enough money. You truly can!

Taking even one of the ideas above will help you towards creating a lifestyle where you always have enough money available to you.

Each time you start to stray from these ideals think of how great of a feeling it is to have enough money available to you always.

Changing your situation is not easy. No one can wave a magic wand and create it for you. I know you can change your situation around.