If there’s something you should strive for in life, it’s being able to manage your money well. It’s not just about making ends meet, it’s about being comfortable, having more than enough money, and a little extra in case of emergencies. It might sound like an easy thing but a report states that more than two-thirds of the population will not be able to produce $1,000 in case of an emergency.
Don’t let life surprise you and leave you struggling. The perfect time to improve your current financial status is now!
Mastering financial management may not happen overnight. But like anything, taking the time to learn and improve will help you reach your personal finance targets. There are essential things to consider first, though there are hundreds that you can try. Here are the best money management tips you can apply to get started.
In every goal, there must be a starting point. For personal finance, everything starts with reflecting on where you are at the moment and where you want to be in the future. First, you should take a look at your credit score, cash flow, expenses, debts, savings, and investments.
Once you’ve laid it all out, it is time to decide on your priorities. Think about the areas of your life that ask for more funds and what you want to achieve in terms of monetary goals.
Now that you know where you want to go, it is time to decide on the battle plan. Creating a budget will give you transparency and show you the reality of your actual financial situation. It simply requires writing everything down. If it’s a little harder for you, you can check out free budgeting tools, apps, or websites to serve as a guide.
Despite this, what you need to focus on is sticking to the budget. After all, that will dictate your success.
Managing your money well means having extra cash to set aside once an unfortunate event happens. Life can suck at times and you can be bombarded with challenges at any time. Should you suddenly lose your job, get into an accident, get sick, or have a car broken down, an emergency fund will save you from stress.
According to experts, an emergency savings account must amount to three to six months worth of living expenses. If you don’t have too much to start with, a good plan would be setting aside 10% of your income every month.
On the road to financial freedom, you should work on chipping off your debt obligations as soon as you can. The sooner you pay off your debts, the sooner you will be able to start saving, investing, and generating more income.
Firstly, focus on those with high-interest rates like credit cards. Don’t settle for making minimum payments, instead, try adding extra so that you finish sooner. If you have some opportunities to consolidate debt, take the chance for a lower interest rate. You can also consider a balance transfer credit card, especially if your credit score is at good levels.
One mistake that people tend to do is putting off their future at the back burner. Everybody grows old and retirement can come sooner than you expect. As early as now, you should work on a retirement savings plan.
The first thing to look into is a retirement account like a 401 k, whether a Roth 401 k or a traditional one. You can check what your current employer offers for your retirement benefits, which can help dictate where you want things to go.
If you don’t have one available, you can talk to a financial advisor and discuss opportunities available to you.
Sometimes, meeting your financial goals can be hindered by your spending. A good financial decision is to review what you have been spending too much on and identify areas where you can cut on your expenses.
People tend to spend too much money on cell phone services, junk food, cable, coffee, alcohol, cigarettes, streaming services, take out, and subscriptions. By trimming the costs of these day-to-day activities, you can get the extra money that you can use to pay off bills or debt.
Credit reports are essential on the road to being financially stable. It involves understanding your credit score, which is a reflection of how you handled credit cards, loans, mortgages, and other similar types of debt.
By seeing how creditworthy you are, you will be able to make sure that your actions will be beneficial for your long term goals. As a bonus, checking out your credit report will allow you to see if there are errors, which will help you avoid a negative hit that you don’t deserve.
While you are preparing for your financial future, make the most of your checking and savings accounts. First of all, make sure that you separate your checking account from your savings so that you will be able to categorize which one you will only put money in and which one you can access from time to time.
If you can, open a high yield savings account as early as you can in life, as it will give you passive income. Your money will not just sit there, instead, it will work for you while you wait for the right time.
There are several ways to improve on the way you manage your money, including budgeting, saving, organizing, and diversifying your income. But at the end of the day, financial success is highly dependent on your consistency and commitment to your goals.
The 50-20-30 budget rule is a good way to start if you are unsure about how to budget properly. It follows the simple formula of taking your after-tax income and divide it to 50% for your needs, 30% for your wants, and keeping the 20% aside for your savings.
AnnualCreditReport.com is a website that offers free annual credit reports to help you get your credit in check.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
This government agency gives consumers the facts they need to make choices about money, credit scores, mortgages, and more.
Planning out your personal financial strategy will only work with the commitment to your own savings goals. The difference in your life will come from your desire to stick to it. After all, many resources are yours for the taking and you can always learn more about new strategies.
For anything and everything about your personal finances, check out AnyCredit.com!
