Finally Get On Top of Your Finances

 

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Mastering your finances is one of the biggest signs that you’ve finally become a fully-fledged grown-up who has your life together, but for a lot of people, it’s far easier said than done, which is why I’ve put together some smart tips to help you finally get on top of your finances for good...

Improve your financial literacy

If you don’t know your taxes from your pensions or even know where to start with national debt relief pros and cons, before you do anything else, do a little reading on the world of finances. Knowing what various terms mean and how they will affect your life is the foundation of every financially literate person out there, it really is that simple.

Draw up a budget

It’s hard to manage your money effectively if you don’t know how much you have coming in or going out, so if you’re serious about getting on top of your finances, you absolutely need to create a personal budget. There are loads of apps that will help you with this, so don’t worry if you don’t know where to start - they’ll do most of the work for you. Once you know what’s what, you can identify ways to make more savings and start building a better financial future.

Boost your bills

We all have bills that we can’t avoid paying, from phone contracts to electricity bills, and there’s no way we can get out of paying them, but what we can all do is be proactive about switching our suppliers whenever there is an opportunity to make a saving. Get into the habit of performing price comparisons of all your major bills every 6 months or so and you could start saving significantly.

Make a dent in your debts

If you have debts, you need to make it a priority to pay them off as soon as possible. Start by transferring any balances to zero interest credit cards. Then, determine which debts are costing you the most and focus all of your energies on overpaying them until they’re eliminated, and then repeat until you’re debt-free. If you’re struggling with debt, speak to a counsellor and see what can be done to help.

Build an emergency fund

Building an emergency fund is really sensible because it gives you a financial cushion should the unexpected happen and you need a cash injection. It will also give you peace of mind, which is worth it on its own really. Start by saving $1000 in your emergency fund, and then try to gradually build it up to the equivalent of at least 6 months’ salary so, should you find yourself out of work, you’ll have some breathing space.

Invest

Investing any spare cash you have is a great way to grow your money without you having to put in much effort. Over the years, if you leave your money in investments, it will grow and hop