Taking control of your financial situation may seem scary at first, but it could be one of the best things you ever do. Many of us aren’t brought up with the money lessons and beliefs we need to be able to handle our finances appropriately. It’s not our fault, or our parents fault really, but it is our fault if we choose to do nothing about it and simply continue to spend money on things we don’t need to impress people that we don’t even like.
By taking control of your financial situation, you’ll have peace of mind, and probably feel more free around money than you ever have before. If you want to know how you can start doing this ASAP, we have 11 smart suggestions for you below. Take a look!
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Start Budgeting Right Now
If you’re not currently budgeting, it’s time to create a budget that works for you. Don’t wait – do it right now. Budgeting doesn’t mean struggling, scrimping, saving, and only spending the absolute bare minimum. Budgeting means making sure you have enough money for all of the essentials, saving money, investing money, and paying yourself a fair amount for a few small treats here and there.
How you budget is up to you – some people like to use something called ‘the envelope method’ to make sure that they have enough for things like their food shopping without overspending. You just need to find a method that suits you best and stick with it.
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Cut Your Monthly Bills
See if there are ways you can cut your monthly bills down. Doing this can give you more money to save
or put towards debts. Plus, it’s nice when you know you don’t have as much coming out of your bank every
single month! See if you can lower your utility costs if you haven’t done this for a while.
Do a comparison of providers, for example, compare internet providers such as Starlink vs Viasat, to see who offers the best service at the best price in your area. You could then move to a different monthly provider if they are offering better deals. Make sure you check this whenever your contract is up rather than just automatically renewing. If you’re automatically renewing, you’re definitely wasting money.
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Stop Eating Out So Much
Eating out is one of the biggest expenses for many people. One meal out can be more than a weekly food shop bill! This isn’t to say you shouldn’t ever eat out or treat yourself – just save it for a special occasion. Have date night once a fortnight, rather than once or twice a week. You could save a substantial amount of money when you pay more attention to how much you’re spending on meals out.
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Track Your Spending
You might have a budget, but are you tracking your spending? This is something you should do if you’re attempting to budget but it’s not really working, or you simply want a better idea of where the money you pay yourself goes. Track everything, even the smallest purchases. There are apps that can do this for you, or you can input it manually into your notes app on your phone. You might realize that the fancy coffee you buy every few days is really adding up. You’ll probably be surprised at where your money is going and come up with lots of ways to cut down your spending!
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Dedicate Money To Investing Consistently
Investing is a great idea for those who want to build long term wealth. Let’s face it, who doesn’t? Investing is something everybody should do, although it does come with an element of risk, whatever you decide to invest in. There are other things you should think about too. For instance, if you invest in cryptocurrency, you should be aware of, such as calculating crypto taxes.
Luckily, sites like https://profitstance.com/product/ can help with that. Investing can seem really scary, but there are all kinds of resources online that can help you to figure it out. The sooner you start, the better!
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Plan Your Meals
Planning your meals means you can make a list and never waste any food. Don’t just buy random things when you go food shopping – this is how both money and produce goes to waste. Plan your meals, and do your best to plan foods that you can make a lot of and freeze, such as chilli and soups. You get more bang for your buck with meals like this!
As well as planning your meals, make sure you never go food shopping hungry, and always stick to the aisles you need to visit only.
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Spend More Time With People Who Are Good With Money
We become like those we spend the most time with, so spend more time with people who are good with money! This won’t automatically make you rich, but it will teach you some valuable lessons and help you to get into a better mindset.
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Set Realistic Goals
Realistic goals can help you to stay focused – but the key word here, is realistic. If you make $30,000 a year, saving more than that is going to be pretty much impossible. Set yourself goals you know you’ll be able to stick to and you can stay motivated. Make sure you can track your goals over time.
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Pay Off Your Debts
Paying off your debts is one of the first things you should do. You don’t want to have to put your hard earned cash to interest rates when you could be putting it into savings or investments. Come up with a strategy or speak to a financial advisor.
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Save An Emergency Fund
Most people don’t even have $1000 saved up to back them up if something goes wrong. An emergency fund of 6-12 months living expenses is recommended, but anything at all is better than nothing to begin with.
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Find Additional Sources Of Income
Finally, don’t be afraid to explore and see if you can find additional sources of income. There are many passive income streams you could explore that could help you to make more money without spending much more time!
Have Fun Controlling your Money,
Stanley
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