Have you had it with living paycheck-to-paycheck? Managing your personal finances can be difficult, especially when you have an extremely busy schedule and no time to put together a budget. Staying on top of your finances is the only way to improve them and the following tips can make this a fast and easy exercise that will get you going in the right direction for improved personal finances.
Make sure to spend less money than you earn. It’s so easy to put our everyday items onto credit cards because we just can’t afford it right then but that is the start to disaster. If you can’t afford it right then, go without it until you can.
To make sure that bills don’t slip through the cracks and go unpaid, have a filing system set up that lets you keep track of all your bills and when they are due. If you pay most of your bills online, be sure that you use a service that will send you reminders when a due date is approaching.
Take taxi fees into consideration, when financially preparing for your trip. Most people are too preoccupied thinking about hotel, food and leisure expenses, to remember that they need money for taxis. When making a taxi or car reservation, ask how much the ride will be on the phone, so that you know how much to set aside.
Feel free to take advantage of paperless billing and paperless bank statements, but be careful not to become senseless on personal finance matters. The pitfall lurking in paperless finance lies in how easy it becomes to ignore your month-to-month finances. Banks, billers, or even thieves, can take advantage of this willful ignorance, so force yourself to review your online finances regularly.
If you love to watch movies or play video games, rent these instead of purchasing the disc. This will go a long way in reducing the expenses that you have, while giving you the same level of enjoyment. Renting is a great alternative to help save money on all of your entertainment.
If you have more than one student loan, consider consolidating them. Consolidated loans can be locked in at a low interest rate, often lower than the interest rates on your original loans. You also have the option of extending your loan payoff period if need be. Contact the agency that holds your student loans to see if you qualify.
Pay off your high interest debts before saving. If you are saving in an account that pays 5%, but owe money on a card that charges 10%, you are losing money by not paying off that debt. Make it a priority to pay your high interest cards off and then stop using them. Saving will become easier and more beneficial as well.
If your mortgage is in trouble, take steps to refinance as soon as possible. While the case used to be that you could not restructure a home loan until you had defaulted on it, today there are many actions you can take before reaching that point. This sort of financial triage is extremely valuable, and can minimize the pain of a mortgage crisis.
One of the easiest ways to create and allocate your finances into spending categories is to use simple office envelopes. On the outside of each one, label it with a monthly expenditure like GAS, GROCERIES, or UTILITIES. Pull out enough cash for each category and place it in the corresponding envelope, then seal it until you need to pay the bills or go to the store.
If you want to perfectly manage your personal finances one of the simple things that you need to take into account are opportunity costs. There are things that you might not be paying for directly, but giving up the chance to make money is a cost to it in itself.
A great way to save hundreds of dollars a month and thousands a year is to start clipping coupons from multiple locations. Saving $30 a week at the grocery store can really add up over the course of a year. That’s an extra $30 you can be using to pay down an insurance bill.
If you are having serious problems with your personal finances, such as being addicted to gambling, get help. There are many support groups available. They can offer guidance, a listening ear, and solid advice. Most of the time this support is completely free to those in need. Don’t wait to get help. Doing so will only exasperate all of your problems.
The more money you spend, the more money you’re going to want to spend. This is a bad cycle to get into with your personal finances. So, instead of spending money on material things to make yourself feel better, look really hard at finding a hobby to occupy your time while your money sits safely away.
Are you concerned about your personal finances? Cut costs at the grocery store! Go vegetarian a few times a week! By eating less meat, you cut your grocery prices. Meat is usually one of the most expensive items in a grocery budget, so eliminate it once or twice a week. In addition, you may be eating healthier, as well as, making yourself try new and creative ways to eat!
As you can see, it’s really not that hard. Just follow these tips by working them into your weekly or monthly routine and you will start to see a little bit of money left over, then a little bit more, and soon, you will experience just how nice it feels to have control over your personal finances.
