Taking Control of my Finances as a Software Developer
That’s it. I refuse to live one more month thinking…” where is all my money going??” I refuse to live one more month looking at my end-of-the-month credit card bill and breaking into a cold sweat. The chaos of needless spending stops NOW.
Steps to Take Control of my Finances
The following steps I will lay out are specific for me in many ways, but I want to share in hopes of encouraging others to assess their financial situation and, more than anything else, BE PROACTIVE. You don’t have to feel helpless when it comes to spending. You have the power (after all, it’s your bank account, and you are making the decisions on what to buy). Don’t be a mere bystander as your money waves goodbye to you. In this article, I share how I am taking charge of my finances.
Stop EVERY Service Subscription I Can Live Without
When I first started my path to becoming a software developer, I thought I needed to access several different subscriptions to become successful. Don’t get me wrong. There are some excellent subscription services out there. However, after trying more than I care to admit, I have narrowed my list to one subscription I feel like I NEED at the moment — Grammarly. I have canceled all other subscriptions. I’m not going to lie. Canceling those subscriptions was HARD. I felt like I was cutting off my lifelines to learning one by one, only to be hurled into the great abyss of software engineering without a parachute. However, surprisingly I have managed just fine. If I come across some new technology I am not familiar with, Google is my best friend. Cutting my subscriptions has forced me to (gasp) READ THE DOCUMENTATION for technologies. Granted, reading the documentation takes some getting used to and is not without its frustrations at times, but odds are you will learn how to learn more effectively by reading information from the horse’s mouth. I will be honest — I like courses that show me how to use technologies as much as the next person. However, in most cases, the documentation does just that (perhaps just not in video form).
Grammarly is different though. It actually is providing me a service daily that I am benefiting from. I can paste my writing into Grammarly, and it’s like having the world’s best English instructor sitting next to you, showing you how to be a better writer. Grammarly keeps improving as well. I remember using it a few years ago and not being super impressed (which is why I stuck with the free plan). However, I recently started using it again and have been amazed at the editing quality Grammarly now provides.
My go-to for learning pretty much everything else is YouTube or Udemy. I have a confession to make. I LOVE Udemy. I am enamored that I can buy stellar courses for less than a McDonald’s meal. The super cool thing is that instructors keep updating their courses, and I have access to those courses for a lifetime. Subscription services, you don’t stand a chance.
Amazon Subscriptions
I do have some items set up for subscription on Amazon. However, be very careful about Amazon subscriptions. Amazon does send you an email when a subscription is about to be fulfilled (i.e., you are about to be charged), but if you don’t go in and check what you have on subscription, you could end up stockpiling items you don’t need that much of. Word of caution: check your subscriptions monthly and make sure you need everything you have on subscription. If this checking process seems more of a pain than a help, I would stay away from Amazon subscriptions entirely (when in doubt, keep things simple).
I HAVE found using a credit card that provides Amazon rewards points for Amazon purchases to be very helpful. Our family purchases a fair amount on Amazon (especially since the pandemic started). Membership Rewards Points available when you buy using a credit card with an Amazon rewards program have been AWESOME. I have had some months with hundreds of dollars of credit I could apply to purchases. There is something so satisfying about going to checkout and hitting the “use your rewards points” and as if by magic, your balance becomes $0.
Get an Informed Picture of How You Spend Your Money
Check your monthly bank statements and credit card bills and pause for reflection. What are some purchases that you really didn’t need to make? My family uses Navy Federal Credit Union, but most financial institutions now provide online banking and financial tracking tools to manage your budget. If you can’t find what you are looking for on your financial institution’s website, contact them, and ask about it. There are a ton of personal finance tracking apps available now. One of the best tools is to buy as much as you can with a credit card (that you pay the balance of monthly) and using online banking to track what you have spent.
Don’t Buy Stuff
Last week, I went shopping for the first time in several months (I mean physically entered a store). The year 2020 has been HARD in innumerable ways, but one unexpected positive from this year is the realization that I don’t NEED many of the things I purchase. When I entered the store, I was surprised at the cognitive overload I experienced. There was so much to select from, and all I had to do was pick up the item and put it in my cart. I found myself thinking I needed three bags of candy because they were on sale “3 for $10,” and I knew my kids would love the candy. I came into the store with a mental list of one item (toilet paper) that I wanted to purchase — I left the store $90 lighter and with ten things. None of the items were terrible purchases. However, many of those items were just not needed.
When I buy online, I find myself being pickier and less prone to impulse buy. However, others might discover they impulse-buy more online. Everyone is different. However, I would recommend the Golden Rule when it comes to purchasing everyday items: make a list and then wait 24 hours. If in 24 hours you find you still need the items on the list, odds are you are okay buying those items.
Go Digital When Possible
I LOVE paper books. Something is soothing about flipping through pages of a book. However, recently I am moving to digital as much as possible. The reason? Space and damage. Books take up a lot of space and also become used, worn, dirty, and tattered. Digital books are great because they don’t get stained when kids touch them after lunch, their pages remain intact, and you don’t need a bookshelf to store them. I cannot tell a lie — I still have many paperback books. However, when at all possible, I am making the shift to digital. The same goes for DVDs. If at all possible, don’t buy DVDs. Once in a blue moon, I will buy them (mostly learning material that isn’t available online), but pretty much all video content can be accessed online now. My advice — stay away from DVDs.
Keep Fitness Simple
I used to have subscriptions to online Pilates videos. I enjoyed them, but after a few months became frustrated at the lack of variety. Also, the $20 monthly charge bothered me. So I cut all workout subscriptions. There is just too much free content available that I can’t justify paying to workout. Many people will disagree with me here. My point is — be mindful of what you are paying for. My mother paid for a gym subscription for years and probably went to the gym once a week. Was it worth the membership fee? No. However, everyone is different. Be proactive about what you are paying for — if you don’t feel like you need it, you don’t need it. Don’t let others tell you differently.
Buy Non-Processed Foods
My son convinced me recently that if I purchased ice cream, he would not eat it all in one day. Guess what? He ate it all in one day. Whenever I buy “fun” food (snack-type food and desserts), I have to deal with sibling fights over who ate what and then children saying they feel sick because they just consumed a bag of chips. However, I have never once bought a bag of rice and beans and had my children over-consume those items.
I am not a nutritionist. I do not want to prescribe a specific diet. However, no one has ever gone wrong with buying non-processed food. Buy simple food — my husband and I have stopped eating meat because it is expensive, probably not great for our health, and not good for the environment. We eat a lot of grains, beans, nuts, and dark chocolate. We stay away from alcohol, meat, and high fructose corn syrup. We have made these dietary decisions that work for us given several factors (family history of alcoholism, kids that tend to be hyperactive, etc.). Be mindful of what you eat — the more unprocessed food is, the more bang you get for your buck.
Beware of the Fast-Food Trap
This point is straightforward — make fast food a once-in-a-while treat (I mean maybe once a month), or drop it entirely. It’s more expensive and less healthy than eating real food at home. If you want to read a great book on diet and nutrition, I suggest the Omnivore’s Dilemma. Here’s the author’s most profound point: eat real food — vegetables mostly, and not too much. This diet is probably better for you and helps mitigate climate change.
Conclusion
I am excited to share my journey with you on taking control of my finances as a software developer and would love to hear from you about what works or doesn’t work for you, challenges and triumphs you have experienced. I will be writing more on taking control of my finances as a software developer as I continue on this journey. Finally, I would like to share the following quote by the famous American investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett:
“The most important thing to do if you find yourself in a hole is to stop digging.”
