Controlling your finances in the current financial climate can be a very hard task, however if you follow some very simple money-saving financial tips, it can be made a lot easier. Based as my time as a financial writer I have come across many personal finance tips and here are some of my favorites, which I can hope can help you on your way to financial success or in most of our cases, financial stability.
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Cut your expenses wherever possible
Many people spend far too much than is necessary on a regular basis, and as a result this is one of my fundamental personal finance tips. You should be regularly checking your monthly outgoings to see if you are paying too much on a specific financial aspect. Using price comparison sites to check your bills or utilities is a good way of seeing if you are paying too much. When out shopping you should try and stick to only buying the necessities, doing this and trying to avoid expensive impulse purchases can help you save money and cut expenditure.
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Never spend more than you earn
Spending more than you earn is a sure fire way to finding yourself in a tricky financial situation, which will more often than not end with the dreaded word… debt. The easiest way to ensure you don’t spend more than earn is to set up a budget. By setting up a budget you can detail all of your monthly outgoings next to your monthly income, then from here you can quickly and easily see if you are spending more than you should. If you find that you are, then you should revert back to point 1 and try and cut down your expenditure.
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Pay off credit card debt
Credit card debt can be a massive hindrance if you are looking to get to a positive financial situation. If you are using a credit card that has a high interest percentage, you should be aiming to pay off this debt first, and if you can’t afford to, then a balance transfer credit card could be an option. Transferring your balance to a low interest card can save you a lot of money in interest payments. A good practice that I stand by, I always try and pay more than my minimum payment, sometimes (if I can afford to) I like to pay most of my card balance off at the end of the month. That way, I still utilise the benefits of the card but I am not letting the balance get to an uncontrollable level.
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Utilize the benefits of a savings account
If you are looking to save for a long term goal, or even if you just want to put some money aside for a rainy day, using a savings account is the best way to go. I have a savings account linked to my normal bank account and a small amount is transferred to my savings account every month, to be honest I don’t even notice the money has gone! That’s the great thing about a savings account; you can save money without really trying. In the US the main savings account is the Lifetime Savings Account or LSA where as in the UK the equivalent is the cash ISA savings account.
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Use a savings calculator
If you are thinking about opening a savings account then why not use a savings interest calculator first? Using a savings calculator you can work out how much interest you would earn based on placing a specific amount of money into a savings account. It does this by using the amount of interest you would be earning and calculating against the amount of time you would be willing to leave your cash in the account for. A savings calculator is a great financial tool that I think most of us could make use of at one time or another.
These are 5 of my favorite personal finance tips out of the hundreds I have come across during my time as a financial writer. If you have any other tips you think are worth mentioning then please add them to the comments section, I would love to hear from you.
This article was written by Andreas Nicolaides
Number two is my favorite. Too often do I see people spending money that they simply don’t have. I used to think I was doing something wrong when I would spend $10 at a club and the next person would have full bottle service. Then I found out just how many of these frivolous purchases are paid for by credit card to maintain an unrealistic lifestyle.
MD! Really? I finally get you to comment on my site and its for a guest post. OUCH! Thanks for rolling by.
Bottle service is NUTS. Not sure where you are but in NY they can get anywhere from $300 to $550 for a 40 buck bottle of vodka OUCH.
It’s amazing how five simple tips can virtually guarantee financial freedom over time yet almost nobody lives by those rules… good suff.
Like MD, number 2 is my fav. I did this almost a year ago, and it was one of the most gratifying financial moves I have ever made, right behind paying off my first student loan.
Personally, I like to pregame enough so that I only need a few drinks at the bar… Why pay $20 for 4 drinks at the bar, when $20 buy you 10 drinks at home!?
I guess I’m no different than everyone else here. Number 2 is the one that I can relate to the most. I think if we just had that mindset, rather than feeling entitled to “things”, we could avoid much financial distress!
Many thanks for the comments guys!
Great article! We totally agree with all points, but especially item #2. You HAVE to live on way less than you earn in order to save, get out of debt, give, and enjoy life along the way. If you don’t live on less than you make, you’re just another slave to the banks. Been there, got burned, did something about it!