Making your money stretch further can improve your day-to-day life immeasurably. By removing the stress and worry of money, you can enjoy mental and physical benefits. But improving your approach to money can be difficult. Below, we explore how to challenge yourself to be better with money.
Form Budgets for Each Week or Month
Keeping track of your money is key and should be one of your first priorities. By monitoring your ins and outs, you stand a better chance of avoiding any nasty surprises. To start with, you should project your incomings for the month. Once you know how much money will be arriving, you should plan ahead and budget for essentials such as bills and groceries. Ideally, from there you’ll be able to set aside a budget for luxuries and savings too.
Pay Off Debt
Debt can make it difficult to be better with money. If you’re constantly having to tend to interest on loans, it can stretch your budget and eat into your savings. Therefore, if you have any outstanding debt you should aim to sort it out as soon as possible. This could mean a few months of tight budgeting though.
Set Aside an Emergency Fund
An emergency fund can give you real peace of mind. Even if you’re on stable financial ground, it can be worrying to imagine that you’re not covered if there’s a surprise payment or time off work coming. To beat this you can set aside an emergency fund. It doesn’t have to be extensive, but it should be enough to keep you going if you can’t work for a few months.
Set Yourself Goals
Motivation is difficult with money – it’s a lot easier to spend money than it is to be cautious. But by setting clear targets you can motivate yourself to be disciplined. This could be a savings target, such as getting the money together for a car or a deposit for a house. Either way, it should be an exciting, motivational goal.
Seek Advice
Sometimes though, it can be overwhelming trying to work out how you can save money. In this situation, it might be worth seeking advice from a financial planning expert. They can assess your financial situation and give you concrete advice on how to improve your position. Experts can help arrange a plan for you to meet your financial goals and move onto more solid foundations.
Becoming better with money can be a difficult journey. But by budgeting each month, paying off debt, setting goals, creating an emergency fund and by seeking advice, you can work towards making your money work better for you.
