Practicing Better Money Management In Your Lifestyle

Money is something that gives all of us a headache to some extent. Whether you’re on a minimum wage, earning a very reasonable salary, or retired living on a fixed income, debt and other monetary problems can befall all of us. Nobody’s immune to financial troubles. Of course, there are ways to reduce the risks of running into problems with your money. It all comes down to thinking carefully about your lifestyle and practicing better money management techniques. Having a little spending discipline will go a long way. If you have no idea where to begin in that regard then here are some pieces of advice which might just help you.

 

The Path to Better Money Management

Make a plan

If you want to become better at managing your money then you need to start organizing your funds. As suggested over at wikihow.com, start with a budget so that you have an overall idea in your mind of how much money you’re earning against the number of expenditures you have every month. Make a list of all your necessities first. Once you’ve added up utilities, rent or mortgage payments, fuel, food money, transportation, and whatever other necessary fees you may have on a monthly basis, compare this figure to your monthly earnings. The amount of money you have remaining is your disposable income.

You can’t exceed that with regards to setting aside some money for a rainy day or buying your monthly non-necessities. As mentioned over at lifehacker.com, the golden rule of personal finance is to spend less money than you earn. It sounds obvious but only if you keep track of your income and expenditures.

Of course, all situations are different. Perhaps you’re running into the red slightly. You’re struggling to manage your money because your earnings aren’t currently covering all your necessities. That and you’re early to the personal finance game and haven’t had time to build a decent savings account. There are ways to reduce your spending on such things to get through the financial hurdle. You could look into different service providers for better deals or perhaps head over to sites such as mortgageloans.co or lendingtree.com to get a loan that can cover your mortgage payments until you’re in a better monetary situation or refinance for a better rate and/or payment.

The point is that you might have to rethink your living situation, if your current earnings aren’t quite covering the bare essentials or adequate emergency savings needs and you’re not sure when you’ll next get an increase in your salary.

 

Shopping

Breathe a sigh of relief because we’re not going to say that you should stop shopping. Everybody needs new clothes, appliances, and other luxuries from time to time. Of course, there’s a difference between treating yourself to the occasional luxury and turning luxury shopping into an everyday staple of your lifestyle.

You need to practice self-restraint too. If you see something expensive that you think you want then try the 30-day rule. Leave the store (whether you’re browsing virtually or in person) and wait 30 days. If you still want that thing then it wasn’t a passing novelty desire. If you no longer want that thing or even remember that you were waiting 30 days then you probably didn’t want it. This also allows you time to really research consumer reviews. You don’t want to ever purchase an unreliable big-ticket item. Sometimes, even things you still think you want or need towards the end of the 30-day rule time-frame will appear less attractive because of negative reviews.

 

You should also ensure that, when you do go luxury shopping, you limit the damage by searching for good deals. Coupons and promotional codes are your friends, as we’ve mentioned before. Always browse the internet to see if you can get money off certain websites before you buy. And remember that holiday season isn’t always the best time to buy things. As suggested over at goodhousekeeping.com, you should buy things immediately after holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas because shops are always trying to sell-off the leftovers and surplus for a bargain price.

Savings

Better money management is a process. It takes time to adjust your thinking from years of the consumer world’s conditioning. A world where convenience and immediate gratification is a driving economic and cultural force. Our last piece of advice is to always ask yourself before spending your hard-earned money on non-essential items: Did I pay myself first this month? Make savings and investing in your future your priority. It is the most worthwhile purchase you can make.