Whether you’re completely broke, living week to week, or have already accumulated some significant savings, then you can always improve your financial situation. The easiest way to go about this is to keep things simple. You don’t need any complicated get rich schemes to get ahead because it’s the basics that work best.
- Bring Down Your Credit Card Debt
Credit cards are perhaps the biggest leech of all. Their high-interest rates can eat into your savings, and they are extremely hard to pay off. If you only make the minimum monthly payments, you won’t be able to get debt free for decades. That’s why, if you do owe a significant amount on credit cards then it may be time to wage war against them. By spending money paying them off today, you may save yourself thousands in the future.
If you have multiple cards, then begin by targeting the one with the highest interest rate: Once that’s paid off, cancel it and get to work on the next one.
- Keep Track Of Expenses With Excel
If you’re not 100% clear where your money is going, then you may want to keep track of your expenses using an Excel spreadsheet. You can record where, when, and how much you spent. Doing so will help you identify any bad spending habits.
If you’re not the smoothest at Excel, then you will find many resources online to help you master Excel sort by column and other handy functions.
- Cut Down On Eating Out
One of the biggest ways to blow money is on eating out. Restaurants and take-out can add up without many people even noticing. If you consider yourself a decent cook or have always wanted to improve your cooking, then now is the time to get in the kitchen. Spend your cash on affordable foodstuffs such as meat, vegetables, pasta, and rice, rather than letting restaurant bills burn through your savings. By doing this, you may find that you can save hundreds of dollars per month.
- Set Up Automated Savings
You can use your internet banking to set up an automatic deduction from your paycheck into your savings account. Just make sure you select a realistic figure to siphon away from each paycheck. You don’t want to be left high and dry by the end of the month.
- Consider Investing Extra Funds
If you have some savings gathering dust then how about locking them away in a term deposit, certificate of deposit, or another safe investment. You will be unable to withdraw the funds for a set period without incurring penalties. This factor will motivate you to keep the fund’s invested while continually earning a return.
Final Thoughts
You don’t have to be a financial guru to sort out your money and get ahead of the game. It’s the basics that are the most important, and by getting them locked down, you will be able to set yourself up for a successful future. So make sure you consider each of these tips to see if they can be of benefit.
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