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62www.i-am-magazine.com4. Identify whims that may be leadingyou to lose control of your money:excessive consumption of alcohol orcigarettes. Both are bad for your pocketand bad for your health. Remember thatevery wish or whim that you giveyourself daily affects your pocket andhits your budget, putting your ability tocover the payments of your fixed andmandatory expenses at risk.5. Set a specific savings goal, forexample, not buying coffee on the wayto work. For your financial goal apply theS.M.A.R.T. Which is the acronym for%u201cspecific%u201d (specific),%u201cmeasurable%u201d(measurable),%u201cattainable%u201d(achievable),%u201crelevant%u201d (relevant),and %u201ctimely%u201d (on time).6. Feeding constitutes one of the mainleaks of money, it is difficult for us toidentify weekly purchases as antexpenses because they are necessaryexpenses. But to avoid those moneyleaks in weekly purchases, I recommendpreparing a weekly menu and taking ashopping list with you to thesupermarket. You can save a lot andavoid buying more. Try not to fall intotemptation, and avoid going to thesupermarket on an empty stomachbecause you will be hungry and buymore.7. Make a monthly budget andconsider other expenses as little aspossible, only if they are necessary.The budget is the foundation of yourfinances. Dave Ramsey describes thebudget as follows:\ budget is when you tell yourmoney where to go, instead ofwondering where it went\Ant expenses, however small andinsignificant they may seem, reduceyour personal and family economy,keep you from your financial goals,and make it difficult to get out ofdebts that you may have pending.Remember that these unnecessaryexpenses rob you of your financialpeace of mind.Finally, remember that the antexpenses could be directed to a betterobjective. Can you imagine what youcould do with that money thatescaped you? If you reduce, eliminateor avoid such unnecessary %u201cantexpenses%u201d, you will be able to saveand set short and long-term financialgoals.Melina Zovko