In times of chaos, we often only need one or two little titbits of organisation in our lives to make things remarkably easier.

Just like a smile from a stranger when we’re having a miserable day. It’s a small thing that only takes a split second to occur, yet it has the power to lift us out of our negative headspace and see the world as a brighter place.

For people who aren’t natural budgeters, setting up a budget and sticking to it can seem like an overwhelming task. If you’re finding it hard to budget, start with one small step that is easy to implement and it could be like that proverbial smile from a stranger in your money management.

What is this one small step? Well, the best place to start is with your cash spend. Cash spend is the money you spend on miscellaneous day-to-day things. If you have a savings plan in place, then your cash spend:

Cash spend = Income – essential bills – savings

If you don’t have a structured savings plan, just ensure that your cash spend is less than your essential bills.
So here’s what you do:

  • Establish your cash spend each month
  • Withdraw it from your account
  • Divide into weeks
  • Put it in your drawer
  • Use only this money for buying coffees and other miscellaneous things
  • This will ensure that you don’t over spend on these items.
  • This small step will empower you and maybe after a few months you may be ready to take the next steps in setting up a budget.

Another small way to feel more organised is to clean out a couple of shelves in your cupboard every month. Just like budgeting, don’t start with the whole cupboard. Just take a small step in claiming your sense of organisation and feeling in control.

We can’t stop the world from changing. Chaos is an unavoidable part of life. But as long we have the resources to cope with the change, then we can embrace changes and challenges and allow them to be the catalyst that moves us forward.

One of the biggest hurdles to embracing change is often the fear of the financial impact. Being more organised financially allows us to be more resilient and sets us up to be able to cope with unexpected life events.

The place to start is with your cash spend. Now go for it!