She’s the money maestro who famously saved a staggering $36,000 in just 13 months – all in addition to her regular salary.
So it should come as no surprise that Australian financial expert Canna Campbell and founder of SugarMama TV understands what it takes to build wealth and keep it.
Canna joined American lifestyle blogger, Aileeh Xu, better known as Lavendaire, to chat about money and ways to make financial freedom a reality.
From how to create a prosperity mindset to why it’s important to start with a clear ‘financial picture’, Canna reveals the seven steps to saving, budgeting and cultivating abundance.
Australian money expert Canna Campbell (pictured) is famous for saving a staggering $36,000 in just 13 months – all in addition to her regular salary
Step one: Money mindset is your most important asset
Before you even begin to think about saving or paying off debt, Canna believes it’s essential to take a closer look at your beliefs surrounding money.
Her advice is to stop and spend some time exploring any blocks you think you might have.
‘They appear and go away, but you have to do the work on them,’ she said on the YouTube clip.
A self-limiting belief may be one where you think you can’t earn over a certain amount, Canna explained before adding ‘it’s like a ceiling’.
‘But once you realise this is just something in your mind, explore it and challenge it, and let it go,’ she said.
‘What I recommend people do when it comes to these blocks, or if you’re questioning your self worth, is to think about talking to yourself as your friend.’
Canna recently teamed up with American lifestyle blogger Aileeh Xu, better known to her fans as Lavendaire, to chat about money
Step two: Get clear on where you stand financially
The expert advises the most important thing you can do, ahead of anything else, is to take the time to get a snapshot of exactly where you stand financially.
‘Write down all the money you have in your savings account, 401k plans or IRAs, any shares or investments you might own and also write down all the liabilities.
‘So who you owe money to and how much.’
The sum total of the different lists will give you a net worth figure, Canna explained.
‘Take the time to write down where you stand financially so you can start to see your progress.’
Step three: Take action by setting financial goals
When setting goals, think about what you would like to have, be, or do that makes you excited about changing your life.
‘Say you’ve got lots of credit card debt that you feel really embarrassed or ashamed of, set yourself a goal to pay that debt and stay out of debt for good,’ Canna said.
‘Set a goal to pay the debt off by a deadline and make sure this is done within a certain time frame,’ she added.
‘For instance, you might say my goal is to pay off my $3,000 in credit card debt by the 19th December 2018. This [date] is specific and makes you accountable.’
The most important thing you can do, ahead of anything else, is to take the time to get a snapshot of exactly where you stand financially
The expert also shared her ‘money mantra’: ‘Always buy what you love, value use and appreciate’ as a way of reducing ‘incidental spending’
‘It’s amazing what you can do to create extra money when you put your mind to it,’ Canna said
Step four: Have a budget in place
Budgets are often considered restrictive or mean, ‘or they come from a place of deprivation’, which is something that makes them difficult to stick too.
‘But they are about giving yourself really healthy guidelines or boundaries when it comes to spending,’ Canna said.
To explain how to create an ideal budget, Canna said, in addition to living costs, also allocate a certain amount of money each week or month into spending categories you rate as important.
‘So you might say to yourself “I am going to allow $100.00 per month to spend on takeaways or I am going to allow $200.00 for new clothes for my wardrobe, whatever it is important to you.’
The expert also shared her ‘money mantra’: ‘Always buy what you love, value use and appreciate’ as a way of reducing ‘incidental spending.
‘When you do your budget you will see all the mindless spending that really goes on.’
Step five: Develop an abundance mentality
While a prosperous mindset is connected to how much money you earn, it’s not necessarily limited by this.
‘As you know there are so many different things you can do to make more money. People set up businesses all the time, they have side hustles, they have gigs, they have hobbies, they have arts and crafts,’ Canna revealed.
‘It’s amazing what you can do to create extra money when you put your mind to it.’
While a prosperous mindset is connected to how much money you earn, it’s necessarily limited by this, the expert shared
Step six: Have a savings account for emergency spending
‘If you have been someone who has previously been in debt, you don’t want to repeat history,’ the expert cautions.
Her advice is to set up a separate emergency account for unexpected life costs – this can range from anything such as paying for a parking ticket to covering the cost of dental work or a home repair.
She said if you have the money set aside for those ‘things that happen’ you’re in a much more ‘resilient place’ to deal with it.
‘You can just go to your emergency savings account and just fix the problem by using the money that’s there. And once you have used it, you always restock it.’
Step seven: Learn how to generate passive income
Passive income is a way to make money without having to actually work for it.
An example of this might be money earned on a rental property, or through funds generated from stocks and shares or via online work such as blogging.
For those interested in funding a lifestyle built on this type of income, Canna recommends first becoming clear on your cost of living and then budgeting these costs in order to make sure you know how much you need to earn.
She also explained there are a number of ways to build passive income including slowly creating a property portfolio or through receiving dividends through shares and stocks.
‘And that builds up over time and you end up with a multi-million dollar share portfolio paying you a passive income – and that’s the true definition of financial freedom,’ she added.