Finally! Two long weeks have gone by and today’s the day: PAYDAY! If you’re like the majority of the world, you probably already have an idea of what you plan to spend you entire paycheck on. From the new shoes that just came out, to your routine cup of coffee, to the monthly bills, your paycheck is spent (in your mind) before it even hits your account.

Quick question: Was savings/investments a line item on your list of expenses? If not, you’re not alone. It was reported on CNBC that just 39% of Americans would be able to pay in cash for a $1,000 emergency expense. That has less to do with how much money you make, and more to do with how much money you keep.

Unless you’ve been working for a short amount of time, chances are that you’ve received some sort of pay raise at your job, or you may have even switched to a higher paying job. The thing is, you were able to live off your old salary when it was your salary. You may have been living well below your means, but you were still able to do it. What happened when you got a raise and your income increased? Why do you still not have any money?

There’s a principle called Parkinson’s Law, founded by Cyril Northcote Parkinson, that states “Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.” If this was translated to your personal finances it would say “Expenses expand to exhaust all the money available per paycheck.” No matter how much you make, you always seem to spend every last penny and end up wondering where it all went!

The key is to create a BUDGET! Without a definite method for allocating money for savings/investments, you will never begin to accumulate wealth. You will stay among the 61% of people who cannot afford an unexpected $1,000 expense. We don’t want you to end up in that crowd. You deserve financial freedom. This is why we’ve attached a budget spreadsheet for you to follow at the bottom of this page!

In this budget spreadsheet, the instructions are simple (fill in the yellow spaces only):

1. List out your Earned and Unearned (Passive) Income.

2. Pay yourself first. Allocate for “Tithes”, “Save”, “Invest”, and “Taxes”.

3. Identify all current monthly expenses under the “Current” column in the “Expenses” section.

4. Look under the “Budget Analysis” section. If your “Current Surplus/Deficit” is negative, you need to decrease your expenses! You’re living above your means!

5. In the “Expenses” section, use the “Required” column to reduce expenses in areas that aren’t necessary. (Ex. a monthly subscription you don’t use)

6. Allocate the extra money you saved towards savings/investments until your total “Required Surplus/Deficit” is $0.

Once you’ve done this successfully, the spreadsheet now becomes your Zero Sum Budget, with every dollar from your paycheck accounted for, even those for savings and investments. The last, and most important, step of all is to IMPLEMENT this Zero Sum Budget to your lifestyle! If you consistently follow this spreadsheet, you’ll be one step closer to financial freedom and building wealth for generations to come!

If you have any questions about the spreadsheet, refer to the “Notes” column for assistance. You may also reach out to us on IG @moneymonopolizers or on Twitter @TheMonopolizers.

Now it’s time to take action!