Tip, pay yourself first. Treat your savings like a bill. It’s not optional — it’s a future-you deposit.

I won’t hide from the fact that I grew up poor, but with parents smart enough to know how to work the system, we never found ourselves in a particular puddle for too long. Sure enough, wherever there was mud, there was also always a clean hose for us to wash off with. I’ve never experienced the poverty people like Viola Davis suffered through, such as having to go extended periods of time without access to clean and running water, but I’ve also never experienced her amount of success, so I wonder if that cancels anything out. I mean, if I ever became highly acclaimed in the exact career field I had always dreamed about, wouldn’t that be enough to lessen the blow of the earlier years where nothing went my way? 

I surmise I’ll have to get back to you on that one.

The point is, I grew up poor. And you’d think my relationship with poverty would act as a driving force to secure a reasonable amount of savings, but the truth is, I hold all the red flags when it comes to being financially in control. 

Red Flags

1. Lack of Financial Education — lack of learning the basics: budgeting, saving, investing, or credit management.
2. Scarcity Mindset — the belief that there’s never enough because there’s a fear that it could all disappear tomorrow.
3. Using Spending as a Coping Mechanism — Shopping can temporarily soothe, distract, or feel like a way to reclaim control or joy after years of deprivation.
4. Revenge Spending — buying things that were previously out of reach as a way of “making up” for the past.

You name it, I’ve got it, but the goal is not to anymore. So, here’s what I’m going to do.

Plan: I’m going to follow the 50/30/20 plan.

Here’s how it works: 50% of all income goes directly to bills, 30% is dedicated to groceries & gas, and the other 20% gets deposited into a savings account.

However, I’m going to slightly adjust these percentages in order to hit the number goals I have in mind. For example, I’d like to dedicate $200 biweekly towards my savings account, so instead of 20%, I’m going to direct 18.2%, add the other 1.8% towards my grocery & gas fund, making it 31.8%, and leave the 50 rule alone.

Of course, this plan looks good on paper, but what are my concerns?

My debt. How do I manage to consciously save while I’m in debt? I mean, won’t the interest rates eventually creep up on me and if so, wouldn’t having a savings actually be counter-productive? So, this begs the question, should you save while you’re in debt?

Yes, and here’s how:

1. Build a Mini Emergency Fund (MEF) First — Don’t attack your debt aggressively in the beginning, rather, manage to save between $500 – $1,000, or whatever will cover one month’s worth of expenses for you. That way you won’t have to use your credit cards for emergencies.
2. Once your MEF is situated, you can start confronting your debt more seriously. Instead of directing 20% of your income towards your savings, you could dedicate 18% to your debt and 2% to your savings (just to keep the flow going and your initial savings growing)

Because I am going to implement a shopping ban for the rest of the year, meaning I will not be allotting any money towards things as unnecessary as wants (i.e. – coffee runs, takeout, or miscellaneous items), I imagine despite the initial difficulty, paying down my debt should actually be a swift process. 

Although, during my initial planning, another concern of mine was the fact that since my bills are scattered throughout the month — sometimes consuming more than 50% of my total biweekly income — I found myself wondering how to successfully satisfy paying all my bills without detouring away from the 50/30/20 rule. Here’s how:

How to Know When to Save (with Scattered Bills):

1. Create a “Money Map” system that breaks each paycheck into consistent portions — no matter when bills hit.
2. Keep 50% of total biweekly income in checking account for bills. If a bill isn’t due yet, just let the money sit there.

That way, each paycheck contains part of your savings + bills, instead of waiting until everything is due. You’re evenly pacing your month, rather than reacting to the calendar. This builds consistency. You’ll never have to scramble when a bill hits because part of each check is already covering it.

It’s almost as if I’ll be creating two separate MEF’s, one present in my checking account, and the other in my savings. 

And the timing couldn’t be better. This specific paycheck was only intended to cover a small amount of my bills, which means instead of having to spend more than 50% just to cover it all, I only need 35% this round and can set aside the other 15% to start putting this new plan of mine into motion!

I know it’s easier said than done and not everyone can save the same way I can; I’m fortunate to have the support of my husband to cover the bigger ticket bills such as rent and utilities. Nonetheless, I’m determined to step out of this financial puddle I’ve fallen into and I’m excited to see where it leads.

Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.

— Henry Ford

What’s a financial red flag you’ve had to overcome and how are you tackling your debt? Strategies? Approach? Tips and tricks? If you haven’t had those types of discussions, now would be a great time to start approaching the subject.