Not everyone possesses the natural inclination to strictly monitor their personal finances. Everything from remembering to check your gas and electricity meter to remembering to pay off a credit card can sometimes accidentally get forgotten – sometimes once, perhaps countless times. Getting on top of your personal finances enables you to put enough away to save for the future, and also prevent any alarming mishaps, which could ultimately cost you money.
Avoid impulse purchases
You may have heard the advice to not go shopping in supermarkets when you’re hungry, but this piece of wisdom might be very applicable when it comes to keeping your finances in check. Acknowledging your weaknesses, whether it’s coffee or cosmetics can help you identify what you tend to impulse buy. Looking through your monthly transactions can also be quite revealing when it comes to finding out what you mindlessly spend on.
Put money aside every month
There’s nothing that builds up a rainy day fund quicker than putting away money at regular intervals. Remembering to send yourself an affordable amount of money might not seem like much as the time, but it can add up to an impressive amount. It’s also important to put money away for an emergency fund. An emergency fund will cover you in any rainy day instances, such as a sudden car repair that needs fixing, or any unexpected payments that could leave you in debt. In the short-term, quick loans can be used to cover any emergency purchases or necessary items. However, it’s good to pay this off as soon as possible so you can get back to saving.
Set reminders
If you have bills that need to be paid by a certain time, or if you have electricity meters that need to be read at certain intervals, then setting a reminder on your phone can help to put it at the front of your mind. If you need to remind yourself when to save, then this can also factor in your reminder system.
Get professional help
If keeping track of your finances doesn’t come naturally to you, or if you find yourself in a financial situation you’d rather not be in, then getting some professional advice might be a huge help to you. We can’t all be financial experts, and a professional accountant or bank advisor might be able to point you in the right directions with how to get on top of your finances.
Check the best deals
You might be surprised to know that the effectiveness of the interest rate on your savings account is likely to expire. In order to attract new customers, banks offer more enticing interesting rates to new customers, and this also usually factors in inflation to help them get the best deal. By checking the interest rates on your current savings accounts, you could discover that it might be worth your while to do some hunting on the savings market.
Keeping on top of your personal finances can not only help to score you some financial deals, but it can also be a good way of protecting yourself from any unexpected payment, or at worst, fines.
