now alexir the dumbest thing we can do with money is to spend it impulsively right and to spend it beyond our means but there are four smart factors to spending money and if your expenses fit into these factors well you're spending smartly firstly you have to spend money to make money second you need to spend money to save time third you need to spend money to invest in your mental and physical health and last you spend money to make memories with your friends and family so here are 15 smart ways to spend your money to
make sure the benefits you get outweigh what you're spending welcome to ax number one dinner with someone who inspires and motivates you when you're on a savings spree going out for a simple dinner can make you feel anxious and stressed but meeting with people who Inspire and motivate you on your journey is essential for keeping your spirits up it doesn't have to be anything fancy but the Boost of perspective and an outside view from someone who knows you and who is doing well for themselves can help you to get more ideas about your direction and
future plans you walk away from that dinner feeling more motivated to pursue your goals and with a new and different ideas of how you can get there number two educating yourself about your financial mental and physical health a little bit of a Shameless plug here but hear us out okay when we first started Ali as a Blog about a decade ago we started it because we couldn't easily find accessible and digestible Financial advice at the time we were a two-person show and naturally we made mistakes when you don't have much to start with mistakes are
costly we had to learn from our mistakes very quickly because we literally couldn't afford to make them but as we grew we were lucky enough to get to move into the circles where people were sharing their lessons and so our mistakes became less frequent and less costly paying to educate yourself about your financial mental and physical health seems like spending money on something that you don't need but trust us you do other people's experiences and mistakes are your safety net what you spend now to educate yourself is going to change your life number three a
hobby that keeps you out of trouble Hobbies keep you occupied and out of trouble and if you're occupied and out of trouble then you're not spending frivolously but don't choose an expensive hobby because that kind of defeats the purpose right choose something that doesn't have major upfront costs maybe something really physical like bouldering in climbing gyms they're all the rage right now and they've already got all the equipment you need you just pay a monthly membership fee go play around and spend your time doing something fun and healthy most Hobbies do come with at least
a minimal upfront cost so choose something you can afford and won't break the bank but still will get you excited and feeling challenged number four blood tests now this might seem like a pointless cost at the moment but blood tests can save you a wealth of trouble and money in the future it'll tell you about your nutrition deficiencies metabolic disorders your liver and kidney function cholesterol levels and it can detect inflammation and infections these are all things that can be extremely CA ly in the future in more than just monetary terms being aware of your
current health condition can help you to make changes that you need to do now to prevent major problems in the future number five healthy food yes healthy food is often more expensive than junk food but not by much you don't have to eat all organic if you can't afford it but spending a little bit extra on Fresh Produce fiber complex carbs and quality protein is going to save you from lot of physical issues in the long run obesity and diabetes cost the US nearly 172 billion and $237 billion per year respectively while other health conditions
do play into this the majority of today's diseases could be prevented and managed with good nutrition if there's anything you should be spending your money on it is this hexer put the McDonald's down close that food delivery app reward yourself self with good health and good nutrition number six the gym if we're going on a health Journey Let's Go full force if you're not at the gym lifting weights stretching your body dancing walking and just doing anything to move then what's your plan our sedentary lifestyles are already negatively affecting us and the longer your lifestyle
stays this way the more you'll pay for it in the future you'll save money on medical costs therapy and it even occupies you and your board which is one of the major culprits of impulsive spending find a class you enjoy work out on your own with your earphones on just get there find the joy and benefits of moving your body number seven quality clothing and shoes we get that this can be a trickier expense to justify because fashion changes so quickly a great look this year becomes dated next year but what's important to find is
your own signature style that way you can still buy a few trendy pieces for the year but still keep your good quality clothing that is true to your personality unique and looking great those are the pieces you should splurge on and you're not going to find them in your usual fast fashioned mall stores search for a few local places that make clothes you like find out where their clothes are made and who makes them because look okay some places do Buy on Sheen and just just change the label and then slowly start buying quality Timeless
pieces of clothing from them some wardrobe Staples your closet and style will be unique the quality will be great and people can see that you look different from everyone else we can all spot good quality clothing a mile away we might not immediately know that that's what we like about someone's style but it looks far more put together and tailored that's the message you want the world to know about you number eight family date days don't be afraid to spend money on making memories when you're saving for something big a house a new car your
kids expensive school fees the idea of spending money on a day out or a weekend away from them just doesn't seem feasible but we guarantee you this 10 years from now you and your family will remember the family date day far more than the times taes taught by good teachers you'll strengthen your relationship with the people in your family and connect on a deeper level you'll free yourself from the distractions and stress of daily life and you'll create this awesome supportive environment where all of you can express your feelings communicate with each other and create
a sense of belonging in purpose if you don't have kids you can do this with your partner your parents your partner's parents create that Family Circle Number Nine a course that opens up other job opport unities upskilling yourself is great right enhancing your knowledge is awesome and while you can do it for fun it's also great when it comes with a future goal of opening up other job opportunities it doesn't have to be in the industry you're in right now it could be something you might want to do in the future and you want to
spend this time now building up your knowledge and experience becoming a scuba diving instructor or a ski instructor or a video editor you could be working in retail right now or in a call center but that doesn't mean the courses you take on have to mirror your current job it could be completely different and open up opportunities for a pivot in life later down the line it's a fantastic investment and it might not seem like you'll immediately use it but you will eventually it's an investment in yourself your future and your current happiness number 10
a good bed and pillow we spend about a third of Our Lives sleeping okay sleep affects our mental and physical health our mood metabolism productivity memory and focus anything you need to function well is elevated by good sleep you can have the best eye mask and good earplugs but if your bed and pillow are subpar your body is going to hate you and just because a bed is expensive doesn't mean it'll be good for you your ideal mattress depends on your usual sleep position so you're not just investing in a good mattress no you're investing
in figuring out what works for for you side sleepers might prefer a softer mattress to cushion their shoulders and hips back and stomach sleepers benefit from firmer support then there's the material your body weight and type your ideal pillow for neck support it's a whole journey okay a little bit costly but so so worth it number 11 pay off your credit card this one is obvious right but you'd be surprised how many people don't realize how important it is to keep your credit card payment at a steady level not too much not too little keep
at the same Pace every month unless your debt is crippling if you've got crippling credit card debt you need to pull all of your resources into paying it off because the interest rates on credit card payments will haunt you forever forget everything else on this list and focus on paying that off first if you're in highin debt when you're all done come back here and divide what you were paying between everything else on our list it's going to take sacrifice but it'll be so so worth it number 12 an emergency fund we're saving some of
the best for last year if you've never saved before it can be hard to know where to start retirement Investments a house what's the first thing you should be saving for well you start at the beginning which is saving for your emergency fund the first few months of creating and supplementing your emergency fund is going to take some sacrifice experts advise saving at least three months of your monthly salary for your emergency fund for the first few months put as much as possible in there until you've reached your goal and then every month put a
small percentage of your salary into that emergency fund keep doing that for as long as you can and ignore your emergency savings unless it's an actual emergency number 13 Investments investing with a long-term goal always is a good idea it gives you something to drive for so you don't always feel like you're investing aimlessly you can still invest for a home retirement your child's educational fund or even to have a good savings cushion if you're already an investor then you know what direction to go in but if you're new to it and trying to decide
what to do you can consider three types of Investments there's index funds which allow you to buy bits and pieces of companies an index fund like the S&P 500 includes 500 of the biggest companies in the US like apple Google Microsoft and when you buy shares in an index fund you're essentially buying a small piece of each of those 500 companies and this spreads your risk so if one company doesn't do well they're removed replaced with a better company and you still have all the others doing better there's mutual funds too which are like index
funds but professionally managed by Financial experts these experts decide which stocks bonds and other assets to include in the fund based on on the funds specific goals mutual funds are a bit more expensive because the experts manage the buying and selling of assets within the fund but because it's Diversified there's less risk compared to you picking individual stocks yourself then there's exchange traded funds or ETFs they're similar to index funds but trade on an exchange like a stock so you can buy and sell ETF shares throughout the day at different prices they're flexible cost effective
and an easy way for investors to diversify their portfolio so choose one of these three types of Investments first find a financial institution that offers you the best deal and then set a finance goal for the next 10 to 15 years from your goal work back to see how much you would need to invest to reach it and how much you could potentially make from that deal a common rule of thumb is to aim for at least 10 to 15% of your income but even small amounts will help you out in the future number 14
retirement a long-term investment is different to saving for retirement and it's important to recognize this you need both and they should be kept in separate funds research and use retirement accounts that offer tax advantages in your country financial advisers recommend saving between 10% and 15% of your income starting in your 20s if you start later this will probably increase slightly but it's never too late in most countries you can start withdrawing from your retirement accounts without penalties around 65 years old withdrawing before then is often impossible or it comes with Hefty penalties so just keep
that in mind it might be your money but you won't have access to it for a long time and number 15 insurance this is another expense that can seem so frustratingly pointless and costly until you need it home insurance car insurance health insurance and life insurance are going to be those expenses you pay for and maybe never use and that's kind of a good thing if you have to use it then it means something bad has happened in the midst of a crisis the last thing you want to do is to try and figure out
how you're going to pay for damages or upcoming costs Insurance takes a weight off your shoulders during the most challenging times it doesn't have to be much pay what you can afford try to get a decent plan out of it and use it when you need it and since you stuck around with us until the very end my friend we've got a Bonus and that bonus is travel hexer travel far and wide get out of your comfort zone experience a new culture and language taste different types of food and see the world from a different
perspective it's enriching and fun and creates a sense of purpose and meaning in your life especially when you spend most of your time working and following a strict routine shake things up a bit and get yourself exced excited don't be afraid to spend on traveling because you'll get so much from it and you'll remember your experiences for years to come getting out and seeing this world will give you new ideas and motivation for your own life it's an injection of happiness and my friend you deserve it spending money wisely isn't just about saving or growing
your financial assets it's also about doing things that will enrich your life and make your days more exciting so invest in your mental andys physical health make your budget plans and stick to them and find a way to make your money give you a more well-rounded fulfilling life that's what it's all about right balancing happiness health meaning memories and security so tell us alexir what did we miss on this list what's a smart way to spend money that you think other people should know about let us know in the comments we'll see you back here
next time my friend take care
