Personal finances today aren’t so much what you spend your money on, but how MUCH you spend of your money on certain things. Everyone can benefit from cutting back. Take a look at the ideas to follow and see if there are ways that you, too, can put a little more in your pocket each month.
A penny saved is a penny earned is a good saying to keep in mind when thinking of personal finance. Any amount of money saved will add up after consistent saving over a few months or a year. A good way is to determine how much one can spare in their budget and save that amount.
If you have more than one credit card – cut it up. Don’t use credit cards to spend money you don’t have. This is the easiest way to find yourself waist deep in debt. If you do all of your shopping with cash, you won’t be able to spend more than you have.
Raking leaves can be a good way for one to build ties with their neighbors while also creating a source of income for ones personal finances as long as the individual lives in a seasonal area. Raking leaves will provide a steady job for those who are willing to offer their services.
House sitting can be a valuable service to offer as a way for a person to increase their own personal finances. People will be willing to pay for someone they could trust to look over their belongings while they’re gone. However one must maintain their trustworthiness if they wish to be hired.
If you have multiple credit cards, get rid of all but one. The more cards you have, the harder it is to stay on top of paying them back. Also, the more credit cards you have, the easier it is to spend more than you’re earning, getting yourself stuck in a hole of debt.
It may be a little hard but it’s recommended to use ATMs that your bank owns so that you can save on fees. This can save you quite a bit in the long run. Many financial institutions impose fees for using ATMs of non associated banks. These fees can accrue over time and cost you.
Make your personal finance record-keeping more efficient and easy to read by marking debits and payments in your check registry using a bold, red ink pen. This will make you less likely to overlook withdrawals and debits and will also allow you to quickly verify all expenses as you balance your checkbook.
Save a little money every day. Getting a burger at fast food place with your coworkers is a pretty cheap lunch, right? A hamburger is only $3.29. Well, that’s over $850 a year, not counting drinks and fries. Brown bag your lunch and get something much more delicious and healthy for less than a dollar.
An area of personal finance that sometimes gets overlooked is insurance. If you were to lose your job or become ill, even a substantial savings account could be depleted pretty quickly. Many mortgages, loans and credit cards offer insurance that will pay your payments during such events. Disability insurance is another way to ensure a source of income if you were to get hurt. It is usually not as much as your regular salary, but combined with your savings, it can cushion the blow a bit.
When you invest, do not put all of your eggs in one basket. Even if you think that the stock is hot at the moment, if the tides change suddenly, you can lose all of your money quickly. A smarter way to invest is by diversifying. A diversified portfolio, can help whether financial storms much better.
Every month, make an attempt to put a few extra dollars toward the principal on your loans. In the end, this means you are paying much less interest to the lender and ultimately are saving yourself a lot of time and money. A one hundred dollar extra principal payment on your very first mortgage payment can knock off three months of payments at the end!
Consider signing up for a flexible spending account (FSA). FSA allows you to pay for dependent care expenses, commuting and medical expenses and prescriptions or health insurance co-payments using pre-tax dollars. This simply means that you don’t have to pay taxes from the funds you use to pay these regularly occurring expenditures.
Cutting back on expenses doesn’t have to mean that you aren’t living a good lifestyle anymore. Simple changes that won’t have much effect on your daily life can really add up and put more money in your bank account or savings account, where it belongs. As you can see from this article, it’s really not that hard.
