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Guest post by: jeanmarie bills Become an Author

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All women are looking for financial freedom and peace of mind. It’s a driving force for women entrepreneurs, but all businesses take some time and hard work to get off the ground. Well at least ours did, and we have not met any entrepreneurs yet that have told us that their success was fast or easy. Women and money advice have not always gone together, so we have a few practical tips to for female entrepreneurs starting their business to keep track of your finances.

I remember talking to my grandmother, and she was telling a story about how she and my grandfather would budget their money for the month. They would label different envelopes for all their different monthly expenses. One envelope for rent, groceries, electricity, etc. She said, “We knew exactly how much goes to every bill and what we have, if any, left over for other things.”

They did two great things: one, they had an envelope marked “our money,” where

they paid themselves first and two, they always knew how they were doing financially.

This was so interesting because I had never seen anybody do this, and women and money by history were not a common combination. Men were more commonly solely responsible for the finances.

Today, things are purchased on credit cards without much thought. Today there is a feeling that things can be purchased now, and paid for later. As women we love to spend money, and if we want those $400 shoes we will get them, and think about our money goals “later.”

Of course, you don’t have to put your money in envelopes and label them for the month. But as female entrepreneurs we need to be aware of our money goals, and where are money is going.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not suggesting you buy or not buy the $400 shoes, only that we be aware of our finances and then have what we spend or save be in alignment with our values and money goals.

mint.com is the easiest and best program we have found to help keep track of our personal expenses. Mint has some great features for keeping track your finances.

Once you sign up for your account Mint will automatically pull in all your financial information so that you can view it all in one place. It will include bank accounts, mortgage, car loans, credit cards and investment accounts. Mint will then categorize your spending so that you are able to see where your money is going. You can set up monthly spending limits for all your categories. Mint will warn you if you are close to going over or have gone over your monthly budget.

Mint allows you to set up your money goals, like paying yourself first, paying off debt, saving for a vacation, a home, or setting up a retirement. It will allow you to designate the right account and then will do the math and coach you toward your goal. One of the key features that we love with Mint is that they tell you if you are losing money somewhere. The other day we had a notice that we were losing money with our savings account and gave suggestions of savings accounts that would pay more interest.

When living a life without limits it’s important to know what your money goals are. Take some time in a quiet place to really determine what you want your finances to be like for yourself and your family. Be sure your life without limits image is very clear and then write it down. Next time you are looking at the $400 shoes ask yourself if buying them brings you closer to your long term money goals or further away.

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