How To Jump Start Your Budget

Working as a traveling healthcare professional comes with a lot of fringe benefits.  Yet it also comes with temptations to spend more money.  Get tips on how to better manage your money and make the most of your travel assignement. 

How to Jumpstart Your Budget

Working as a traveling nurse or tech comes with some excellent benefits including higher pay and interesting locations.  On the flip side, fluctuating income across contracts and temptations to spend more money on sightseeing and weekend adventures can wreak havoc on your finances.  So how do you get a handle on your finances?  It all starts with a budget. 

Get in the right frame of mind

A budget may sound like a prison sentence.  But it’s really not.  It’s simply a way to make sure you’re getting the most out of every dollar and preparing for the future. 

Determine how and what to track

Are you more of a pen and paper kind of person?  Spreadsheet savvy?  Or more digitally minded.  Obviously old school pen and paper or a spreadsheet can serve you well as you track expenditures such as:

• Fixed expenses (i.e. car payments)
• Variable expenses (i.e. groceries, gas, entertainment and etc.)
• Debt reduction activities (i.e. paying off credit cards or big ticket items)
• Savings (i.e. emergency fund, big ticket items, retirement)

Make Adjustments

As you start to track and see where your money is going you may decide to make some changes.  Maybe you want to spend less on groceries and entertainment so you can save more or pay off a debt faster. 

Keep on Tracking and Enjoy the Benefits

Then keep on tracking.  After a while you will probably have your system down and won’t need to be as diligent about tracking every penny. 

As you move down the road and pay off some debts you may find you want to add more to your savings accounts or investments.  It feels good to reach some of these major milestones.  And before you know it you’ll be enjoying the peace of mind that your finances are in good shape. 

Want more tips on how to manage your finances. Download our FREE Financial Guide now! 

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