I’m a good cook.

The women in my family are all pretty great cooks and bakers. If you’re ever invited for a meal at my parents’ home, you’re in for a treat. My mom didn’t so much teach her daughters how to cook, but certainly instilled a love for food in each of us. As far back as I can remember, my mom would go to a cookbook or a recipe to make a meal. And this is how I, too, learned to cook. I have binders of recipes, shelves of cookbooks, and numerous internet inspirations. When there’s something I want to make, I usually find a recipe.

The reason I am a good cook is because I know how to follow a recipe. Anyone who knows me knows me to be a rule follower (I once panicked watching someone pull off one of those mattress tags that reads “do not remove under penalty of the law”) and following a recipe is no different. The way I see it is: Someone else created this recipe and if I follow it, I should, likely, get the result they intended. Now, as I’ve gotten to be a better cook over the years, I’ve taken some liberties. Recognizing that salted butter is perfectly fine where a recipe calls for unsalted; adjusting for altitude; substituting ingredients I have on hand. But, here’s the thing: I didn’t begin doing this until I had the fundamental skills down. The recipes taught me the fundamental skills I needed to know.

I recently met someone who said they use a credit card for everything and then pay it back. They explained that they do this “for the points.” There are other tricks like this: ways to lower your taxable income; getting the best deals on products; investing while paying off debt. All of these might be viable for you. But, until you’ve mastered the basic techniques, I don’t recommend inventing new recipes willy-nilly. Get the original recipe down first, and then consider tinkering with it to get the results you want.

With personal finance, the basic recipe is this:

1.     Spend less than you earn & live debt free.

Now, you might find yourself saying, “I’m bad with money because I’m bad at math.” Heck, you might even say that about cooking! But, you don’t need to be good at math to be good with money. Money management is 99.9% about your behavior and that’s arguably the hardest part to improve. As you practice more, you’ll get better. It’s like the first time you pick up a knife to dice and you have to look up first what a dice looks like and then how to hold the knife properly to actually dice. The more you do it, the more it will become muscle memory. The better your kitchen-know-how becomes, the more intricate recipes you can follow. And, you will find, you will become more consistent in ending up with a delicious result.

So, don’t get ahead of yourself. Learn the basic skills first. While the recipe for success seems simple, getting clear on your spending and understanding your emotions around money takes mastery. Master that skill first and keep going. Like cooking a delicious meal, getting to use your money meaningfully is truly satisfying. Get in the (metaphorical) kitchen and start cookin’!