In September 2018, Galina Pekurovskaya presented “How to Be A World-Class Saver” during The MTM Network. Her core message was simple but powerful: Pay yourself first. This article builds on that timeless advice by integrating modern, digital receipt tracking solutions with budgeting tools like Notion and Airtable.
The MTM Institute is committed to helping communities master saving and spending with practical, accessible strategies.
How To Start Saving to Start A Business
The Simple 2-Step Secret to Saving Success Galina emphasized two foundational steps:
- Put your money somewhere safe — separate from daily spending to avoid temptation.
- Don’t touch it — protect your savings unless in dire emergencies.
Whether you’re saving for personal goals or your business launch, this straightforward discipline is essential.
Building Your Budget: The Key to Informed Saving
You may not like the answer to this one but it’s the honest truth – you need a budget. No matter how much you have, make, or need, you have to get a clear picture of where you stand before you can plan ahead. The best way to do that is with a detailed budget so you know what’s coming in and how it going out so you make informed changes.
I promise it isn’t hard but it can take some time. Spreadsheets can minimize that time, especially if you’re managing multiple budgets (i.e. personal and business) but only if you’re comfortable with them or willing to take the time to learn. If so, tools like Google Calendar, Airtable, and even Asana allow you to create spreadsheets for free and access them on any device. They also have features that allow you more flexibility than pen and paper, including AI and automation.
You can choose anyone or grab a pen and paper to get started. First, enter your income and expenses for the month – your bills, transactions from your bank statements, and items you want to buy – everything. You’ll want to get a clear picture of your cash flow so you can make informed changes.
Once this month is done, complete the quarter, then the year. You don’t have to do it all at once but block off some time in the near future to make sure you prioritize it. Having a complete picture of your entire year will make it easy to plan for the years ahead.
Deciding How Much to Save
Whether you complete a single month or the entire year, review your expenses and highlight any items that can be cut out to make room for saving. Maybe you can spend less on subscriptions, eating out, and clothes but only cut out as much as you’re comfortable with. You don’t want to add unnecessary stress to your process and you can always cut more later.
Once you’ve decided how much spending you can cut out, decide how much of that you can commit to putting away each month. Be sure to save it separately from the money your spend regularly. So if you typically use cash, set your savings aside elsewhere. If you typically use a checking account, put your savings in a different account. If you have trouble leaving it alone, then up the difficulty to access it – give it to someone you trust or put it in an account not linked to your debit card.
Finally, remember Galina’s main point which is to pay yourself first. Now that you’ve budgeted, you can do so knowing you have enough for everything else. And again, make it as easy on yourself as possible. Automate transfers when possible, set milestones, and reward yourself when you achieve them. Galina recommends saving 15-20% of your income for the future, so that can be one if you’d like. If you know how much launching your business will cost, then that can be another.
Just give yourself enough time to build the habit of saving and budgeting. Don’t worry about missing a “payment” to yourself or making a smaller “payment”. More is better than none and it takes practice for us all. Take pride in trying and sticking with it so you can enjoy it.
Get Started Now for Free
Airtable makes it easy to start budgeting for a business, film, event, and more with free access and free templates. Need help getting started?
Try our online course, How to Start Budgeting in Airtable, now. Free for MTMN Plus members.
Digitizing Your Receipts with Adobe Scan for Better Financial Control
Managing receipts manually can be overwhelming and error-prone. Adobe Scan, a powerful mobile app supported by OCR (Optical Character Recognition), allows you to effortlessly photograph your receipts and convert them into clear, searchable, editable PDF files.
Why Use Adobe Scan?
• Capture receipts on the go with your iPhone or iPad using fast, high-quality scanning.
• Clean up images by removing shadows and stains for professional-quality documents.
• Extract text automatically with OCR to minimize manual dataThe term Data as defined in business. More entry.
• Store your receipts securely in Adobe Document Cloud, ready to share or upload.
Once scanned, upload your digital receipt files into Notion or Airtable, depending on your preference:
• Notion: Create a receipt tracking databaseA database record represents a single, structured collection of data in a table. More with columns for date, vendor, amount, and attach your Adobe Scan PDFs. Notion’s customizable interface lets you add filters, formulas, and reports on your spending habits.
• Airtable: Use invoice or expense templates where receipt files can be attached directly to specific transactions. Airtable’s spreadsheet-style layout offers sorting, grouping, and visual analytics ideal for budget tracking.
Both tools synchronize across devices, ensuring your records are accessible and up-to-date.
About The MTM Network by The MTM Institute
We grow local economies by bringing business owners together for strategic collaboration. All are welcome to come, connect and collaborate locally and online. To remain accessible, we are a free business network hosted by The MTM Institute, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization registered with the Internal Revenue Service.
The MTM Institute strives to empower vulnerable communities, including low-earners, veterans, and survivors of violence and abuse. Our mission is to create safe and accessible spaces for the growth of local economies.
Fueled completely by the generosity of MTM Network volunteers and donors, we support new and growing entrepreneurs, artists, and organizers with educational programs, business services, and inspiration. Our educational programs teach mindful business management through executive leadership, time management, and money management mentorship.
Connect with us at https://mtminstitute.org/joinfree.
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