Does your paycheck disappear as soon as you get it? If so, you probably need some help with financial management. Living paycheck-to-paycheck is stressful and unrewarding. To get out of this negative financial cycle, you just need some more information about how to handle your finances. Read on for some help.
The envelope system is a tried and true budgeting technique that can work well for those who have a hard time staying within their budget. Cash out your paycheck at each pay period and put a predetermined amount of cash into each envelope for each line on your budget. You can then only spend the cash that you have for each item. It prevents you from overspending as you have a visual for what is left.
Save money on your cell phone plan by choosing the right options. A contract-free plan requires you to buy your phone up front, but you’ll save on monthly costs. If you want your phone at a discount, you’ll likely be locked into a plan for a couple of years. A contract option can also make more sense if you want to add other people on a family plan.
If you are making use of credit cards to buy daily necessities such as food and gas, you need to re-evaluate your spending habits before you end up in financial ruin. Necessities and then savings should take priority when spending your money. If you continue to spend money you don’t have, you’re setting yourself for huge debt problems in the future.
Make sure that you set goals so that you can have a benchmark to reach every week, month and year. This will allow you to form the discipline that is needed for quality investing and successful financial management. If you hit your goals, set them higher in the next timeframe that you choose.
If you work in the city, try to refrain from purchasing magazines on newsstands. This will cost you a lot of money on something that you can simply find by logging on to the internet. Eliminate rash spending such as this, in order to reduce your expenses and increase your bank account.
Rebalance any investments that you may have. Stocks and bonds have had an overall good year, though cash yields are near zero. Look at your portfolio and make sure that you don’t need to move anything around so that you are earning more money. You should be doing this every year to help your portfolio.
Write all of your expenses down by category. For example, putting all utility bills in one category and credit card bills in another. This will help you get organized and prioritize your bills. This will also be helpful in finding what spending you should cut back on to save money.
Read books about personal finance and make a point to do this consistently. Motivational books about personal finance keep you on your toes and help make you make great strides in this department. Dave Ramsey has some really great books out, and I definitely recommend his book “Financial Peace.” It is a great read!
For small expenses, keep in your wallet a debit card or at least 10 dollars in cash. Changes to recent legislation mean that merchants have the right to set a minimal price point that must be hit before they allow you to use your credit card.
If you’re opening up a savings account to put your emergency money, always look for a low-risk account, like a high-yield account. Here’s an oversimplification: The bank spends your money and then pays it back with interest, but your money is also guaranteed to be there. It’s a win-win situation.
As a person acting responsibly and trying to get a hold on his or her personal finances, you can look to many areas in order to trim the fat. Try knocking out that subscription to Time Magazine and watch the news instead. Ditch that Netflix monthly premium and wait for your movies to come on cable. There are many areas to trim.
Tackle your debt by paying down the highest-interest debts first. Typically, the highest interest rates are on credit card debt. Prioritizing the repayment of high-interest debt can save you thousands of dollars in interest charges, depending on your balances. As a bonus, putting money toward your debt is a risk-free way to “make” money, since you won’t incur future interest charges on debt that you no longer owe!
Clear debts as soon as you can. Many debts are collecting interest as time goes on, and the interest rates can be very high. Getting rid of debts sooner allows you to pay less on interest and therefore, less overall. Save money by getting rid of debt, starting with the debt that has the highest interest rate.
After reading this article, you should have some ideas about how to keep more of your paycheck and get your finances back under control. There’s a lot of information here, so reread as much as you need to. The more you learn and practice about financial management, the better your finances will get.
