Mel Robbins breaks down a four-step budget method: list spending categories, assign dollar amounts, total your income, then subtract expenses from income. A nurse discovered she couldn't afford her air-conditioning until she did the math, a moment that often brings tears but sparks real change.
Chapters
Step 1 is to write everything down, just the words of what do I spend money on. Don't think about the month, just in general. So it's like, oh, the kids, oh, credit card, oh, grooming, going out. Like, just— I want you to just write the words. Don't think about the money, just words. Okay, so that's first part, step 1. Yes. Then step 2 is now you say, these words on my money list, how much am I spending approximately monthly? Some stuff you'll know, like your mortgage or your rent. Some stuff you might not be sure, Go pull out your bank statement and see on average the last few months how much you're spending on groceries or eating out or grooming. Or electricity. Mm-hmm. Or water. Yes. Or any of those things that you don't even really think, oh my God, I got that bill. Exactly. So then that's within a month frame on average, right? Yeah. So that's step 2. Okay. Then step 3 is to write down how much you make on average every month from all of your areas. So maybe you get alimony, maybe you get child support, if you have a job, whatever that is. How much are you making monthly? Then you add up, step 4, you add up how much you're spending monthly and subtract it from how much you're making monthly. I call that the tears and tissue step, because usually people get there and they're like, can I have a tissue? So I, when I used to do one-on-ones, we would do all that and people would be like, okay, and then I would literally just grab a box of tissues and just put it here because I'm like, it's about the waterworks. It's common. Mm-hmm. Because, you know, they add it up. I remember it was a nurse. I'll never forget. Um, I'll call her B, and I came to her house and it was beautiful condo. And so we did that step and she started crying, and then I started crying because baby, I'm a baby. Um, and she was just like, I didn't realize how much over I was spending. And she said, as a matter of fact, I can't even afford the air conditioning that's on. Can I turn it off? And I was like, yeah, yes. So we sat with the fan on because she just turned on the air conditioner because I was coming over. So I was like Turn off the AC. A fan is fine. That tears and tissue step allows you to see what do you need to do now.
