WSP x bSolo / March 18, 2019 by Brandon Bryant

In partnership with bSolo

Hey everyone hope all is well. As an employee, getting your finances under control is not too tough because your employer takes outs out the taxes for you and also tends to have other benefits like setting aside money for healthcare, savings (401k, IRA, etc.) or dental + vision. Guess what? As a solo entrepreneur this is call a “Freelance Finance Problem”, how do you set aside money correctly for the future and to protect yourself when you have variable income. I teamed up with bSolo, who helps folks who are self-employed attack this and other freelancer problems head on with a community that has experts and resources to guide you through solutions with simple + easy steps. Whether you are planning on becoming an independent contractor or looking for hacks to save money as a freelancer they have your covered with their newsletter and online resources available for everyone.

Using bSolo can be a real-life time saver for all the folks who are self-employed out there. I tend to look for easy-online resources so I can focus on the most important tasks for my business. bSolo also offers a ton of financial education resources that break down + explain life as a solo entrepreneur in plain English and offers solid community support.

Hope today’s post was helpful and good luck with growing your business!

Post Details

Photographer: Mark Asuncion (@moodbymark)

Location: New York

--

Let me know your thoughts on the photos, until next time!

Thank you for reading and Let Your Voice Be Heard Below!!

WSP

WSP x Bank of America Pt. 4 / December 30, 2018 by Brandon Bryant

Hey guys hope all is well. Excited to share more tips around #BetterMoneyHabits in partnership with Bank of America. Today, I am giving a few tips on creating discipline and better spending behaviors. Although it may feel difficult to change your lifestyle in order to be financially savvy, the first step is all it takes! With Bank of America’s Better Money Habits site, there are a ton of resources for anyone looking to improve spending & saving habits.

When I first started to pay close attention to my finances I realized that it will take much more than 1 or 2 quick fixes to become financially healthy. I took a look at the source of some of my struggled and it became very clear that my habits + behaviors were at the root of my bad decisions. I then started to introduce a few small changes to my life and focused on trimming my expenses wherever I saw fit. All the taxis, subscription services, movies, etc. really start to add up at the end of the month. So the tips I am sharing today are focused on trimming your expenses like those and help create new behaviors of financial discipline.

Here are my 3 quick tips!

Set financial challenges that create discipline
- No taxis or rideshares 1 week out of every month, that's 12 weeks or 3 months worth of saved taxi charges (you will thank me later for this one)
- No impulse purchases, always hold off and come back to at a later date to revisit a big purchase
- Price match - many companies especially retailers will match the lowest price of an item whether in store or online so make sure to do your research to find the lowest price possible and have it matched by whoever you're buying the product from
Split expenses with roommates, friends and family
- Split everything, most of the things we have in life are shareable: streaming accounts, toiletries, a TV, a couch, these are all items you can split with your roommate, friend or significant other instead of buying. Make sure to leverage your inner circle to split the cost because sharing is caring :)
Do more at home (save that extra cash)
- Eating at home instead of going to a restaurant
- Watching movies at home instead of the theatre
- Exercising at home instead of going to the gym. Workout with objects found within your home or floor exercises rather than spending money for a gym
- Host events at home with friends (parties, birthdays, etc.) instead of heading to a bar or renting a venue. Show off your interior decorating skills!

These are just a few ideas to jumpstart your brainstorming for ways to simply trim your current expenses and start seeing an improvement in not only your spending behaviors but your bank account as well.

With these tips and the help of Bank of America’s Better Money Habits site, feel empowered to prioritize your savings without having to make major life changes. Find what works best for you and stick with it!

Hope today’s post was helpful and that you are now in a position to have #BetterMoneyHabits!

Post Details

Photographer: Mark Asuncion (@moodbymark)

Location: New York

In partnership with Bank of America

--

Let me know your thoughts on the photos, until next time!

Thank you for reading and Let Your Voice Be Heard Below!!

WSP

WSP x Bank of America Pt. 3 / December 27, 2018 by Brandon Bryant

Hey guys hope all is well. Excited to share more tips around #BetterMoneyHabits in partnership with Bank of America. Today, I am giving a few tips on creating an emergency fund for “just in case” purposes or you can call it a “rainy day” fund as I was inspired by this Better Money Habits article *link*. It's usually suggested to create an emergency fund for 6-9 months worth of expenses but in this blog post, to ease into it, we’ll focus on jump starting a fund with 2 months worth of expenses. Check out more ways to save at the Better Money Habits site and see the ways I’ve implemented some of its advice below.

I know what you’re thinking, if I am young why do I - 1. Need an emergency fund and 2. How should I add up my monthly expenses to make sure I am saving the correct amount of money? The simple answer to the need of an emergency fund is for safety. It’s always better to plan ahead of any unexpected urgent situations such as your car breaking down, water leak at home, or something more serious. For the second question, I would include any recurring monthly expenses similar to the following: rent, food, transportation, debt payments, bills, and any other personal expenses you spend money on every month.

Check out an example below on how to do the math for an emergency fund!

Add up your monthly expenses
- Rent, food, transportation, debt payments, etc.
- Let’s use $3,500 per a month for this example
We are saving for 2 months worth of expenses
- $3,500 x 2 = $7,000
Let’s save over a 2 year period
- Make this simple by saving each month
- $7,000 / 24 = $292 per month
Set up automatic transfers
- To make your life easy, set up automatic payments from your checking to your savings account for $292 for the next 2 years and now you can sit back and relax

Now see, that was not so hard to figure out. Having an emergency fund is great protection from the unexpected twist and turns that tend to always pop up in life. It also helps put your mind at ease when other things in life are off balance. I also wanted to make sure I let you guys know there are so many more ways to trim expenses and use that money for your emergency fund. See more information on the BMH website.

As life happens, it’s easy to lose sight of what’s important when it comes to your finances. I’m so excited to have a resource like Bank of America’s Better Money Habits site along with their Spending & Budgeting Tool, located in their mobile app that helps me see where my money is going. Just select Spending & Budgeting in account details! See more information on the BMH website.

Hope today’s post was helpful and that you are now in a position to start building #BetterMoneyHabits!

Post Details

Photographer: Mark Asuncion (@moodbymark)

Location: New York

In partnership with Bank of America

--

Let me know your thoughts on the photos, until next time!

Thank you for reading and Let Your Voice Be Heard Below!!

WSP

WSP x Bank of America Pt. 2 / December 21, 2018 by Brandon Bryant

Hey guys hope all is well. Excited to share more tips around #BetterMoneyHabits in partnership with Bank of America. Today, I am giving a few tips that I put into action when I was preparing my finances. In order to take the leap of faith from a 9-5 job to an entrepreneur, I had to make sure that my bank accounts were just as prepped which meant dedicating my time to money management. Check out more ways here..

My two year anniversary for being a full-time entrepreneur is coming up in April and I still have to pinch myself sometimes to make sure I am not in a dream. So let's get to the meat of the ideas for preparing to work for yourself in today’s world. My first suggestion is to understand that your mindset + behaviors will most likely change and have to be continually monitored. Planning our finances is no one-stop shop, it's about creating responsible habits and discipline that result in a favorable lifestyle.

Here are my 3 quick tips that you can integrate into your financial planning today

Check your bank accounts and credit cards (frequently)
1. Have weekly check-ins with your finances online, look at your statements for any errors or discrepancies
2. You want to know your transactions like the back of your hand and be quick to reach out to your bank to reconcile any wrongs from misc. charges that can impact your finances or credit score
3. Also make sure to check the final bank statements at the end of the month to make sure they line up with your expenses.
Create Spending Limits
1. Setup alerts that notify you / restrict you from overspending
2. Do you best to limit large purchases, as these can really add up at the end of the year
  1. Bank of America’s Spending & Budgeting Tool is a great way to keep up with your spending limits. This is located in their Mobile Banking app. Just select Spending & Budgeting in account details! Or check it out here!
Set Financial Goals
1. Making progress towards a goal creates momentum, which is something that can be a positive gust of wind at your back while aiming to become a full-time entrepreneur
2. Setting many types of goals will make you feel comfortable taking the leap to work for yourself (examples below)
  1. Saving 2 months rent
  2. Flat rate of $10K
  3. For your side hustle to be worth your free time, make sure it brings in a minimum of 60% of your 9-5 income so that you’re not losing any money while doing what you love!

Just wanted to reiterate that the above tips are to help build positive behaviors in your finances. You can save multiple years of income up but if you have bad behaviors when it comes to your finances it can still have a very negative impact.

Whether you’re looking to make a career change or improve your budgeting skills, the Better Money Habits site has multiple articles for you to check out and learn so that you can add entrepreneur to your title.

Hope today’s post was helpful and that you are now in a position to have #BetterMoneyHabits!

WSP x Bank of America Pt.1 / December 18, 2018 by Brandon Bryant

Hey guys hope all is well. I am happy to announce my partnership with Bank of America introducing the Better Money Habits site, a resource of articles that can help you think smarter when it comes to money. I will be talking about my experiences with planning my finances over the past few years. In the last 5-6 years, I have been a college student, worked in corporate America and am now a budding entrepreneur who is building out a team of employees.

So, I think it’s easy to say that I have been around the block and can talk about a few wins and losses to help you stay financially fit. The world truly works in mysterious ways and the best way to be prepared is to plan ahead!

Now, back to our regularly scheduled program. Our focus will be on quick tips you can start implementing today that will impact your finances in a positive way. Let’s jump right into it!

Create Your Budget
1. Know your take-home income (not your salary) this is the amount of money you receive after taxes, insurances and more is taken out of your check
2. List all of your monthly recurring expenses and add in large purchases when needed
3. Use Bank of America’s Goals Tool to set financial goals you would like to hit (i.e. save an extra $5,000 by end of year for a vacation, new couch, or add to my emergency fund). You can find this in their Mobile Banking app!
4. Last step is to check in + update that document every month (usually the last week)
Focus on Building a Strong Credit Score
1. Remember, no credit is bad credit. So you have to spend, but make sure to spend wisely
2. Easy way to build credit is by paying recurring expenses with your credit card (streaming services, electric bill, rent, etc.) set these to automatic and you will be building great credit in no time
Start Saving ASAP
1. I know it's a hassle and a stress to save. 65% of American have little to no savings, don’t let this be you (site: CNBC)
2. So make your saving automated. Create automatic transfers from your checkings to savings account each month (as little as $200 is a great start)
3. Also if you have a 401K increase the annual contribution and you will thank me later :)

In addition, I have a quick testimony from implementing these tips into my life. During my time in corporate America I honestly worked so much that I didn’t have time to even spend any money. So I just planned to save as much as possible for a “rainy day”. Wish I had the Bank of America’s Goals Tool back then so it could have helped me track my savings. Well that rainy day came much sooner than expected. As I was making the leap of faith into entrepreneurship, I was at ease because I had been putting extra pennies into my bank account and was a hound dog on my credit score (I tend to request for credit limit increases on my cards every chance I get) this helps with your utilization rate and can boost your score.

Lastly, this is the time I really started to create a budget to understand where all my hard earned cash was going, with the help of Bank of America’s Spending & Budgeting Tool which showcases all my expenses. This is located in their Mobile Banking app, just select Spending & Budgeting in account details! With this, I pulled the plug on a ton of unnecessary services and products. I knew my limits + boundaries for spending and that brought a sense of peace during a stressful time of not knowing what tomorrow was going to bring as an entrepreneur.

Hope today’s post was helpful and that you are now in the position to become more financially fit! To keep the momentum going, use the Better Money Habits site to keep learning and growing. There’s no such thing as knowing too much when it comes to your finances.