She Gives, Saves, and Spends: the gift drawer

We made it to the last drawer! How are you feeling after this journey? Excited? Looking forward to properly balancing your finances? I hope so! Our last drawer in our financial planning series is the gift drawer! The name alone makes our hearts warm and happy, right? That’s exactly what this drawer should do for you! It should make you happy and fulfilled!

To review everything we’ve gone over so far, let’s take a look at a summary of the drawers and their respective percentages. We have talked about 4 drawers so far, and we assigned a fixed percentage of your income to each of them. As you already know, their order was intentionally designed to help our brain prioritize:

1. God: 10%;
2. Gratitude: 5%;
3. Tomorrow: 30%
4. Today: 50%

If you’ve done the math in your head, you already know that I suggest that the gift drawer should receive 5% of your monthly income. Now, you may be thinking: “Why do I need a drawer just for gifts? It’s not every month that I give people gifts!”

This is where the most important step to end our financial planning strategy comes in. This drawer means the gifts you are going to give yourself each month! That’s right! You also need to “pay yourself” for all the effort you’ve made through the month. If you don’t, then what’s the purpose of working so hard?

The main idea behind this type of planning that I am suggesting is to see that your life doesn’t have to be just about saving or just about spending. You can find a middle ground, thinking about tomorrow without forgetting today and, above all, without forgetting about yourself! After all, life is one of the greatest presents that God gives us every day, so why not call this drawer “The Present”?

After going through all the other four drawers, separate a fixed amount for yourself. This value can be used to “pay yourself” or to make others happy too. Why not? If using this amount to give other people small gifts will make you happy, this will also be a way for you to pay yourself throughout the month!

What really matters in this drawer is that you look within yourself, at your unique personality and identity, and give yourself a gift, whether it’s something for you or for someone you love.

Series Conclusion

I hope from the bottom of my heart that everything we talked about in this series will help you in your daily financial planning. I also want to remind you that you don’t have to be disappointed if you can’t divide your income according to the suggested percentages within the first month of your financial planning. What matters is that you keep the percentages in mind and work around them.

Following the five drawers that we presented throughout this series, your money will become the means, not the end. The means by which you will honor God, help other people, prepare for the future that God has planned for you, take care of your daily life, and take care of you, God’s most prized creation.

To thank you for coming along on this financial planning journey with us, we at The Girl Writes want to give you a gift, which is nothing but fair after talking about the gift drawer!

With all our love, we’re sharing a financial planning spreadsheet prepared for you to follow everything we talked about in this series! In it, you’ll need only to input your monthly income, and you will see the exact amount ​​that you should put in each of the drawers. If the term “spreadsheet” scares you because you’ve never worked with one, don’t be! We have prepared something very simple. I’m sure you’ll love it!

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us here in the comments or on Instagram. We’re with you on this journey!

Thank you for having accompanied us over these five weeks!