Money, money, money. It’s not everything, but it is incredibly important. So, whether you’re working hard to earn a beginning wage, just starting out your own business or you’re a high-earner looking for some help on managing your money, you’ve come to the right place. So, read on for some tips on how you can get better at managing your money.
1. Assess your finances
Before you get going, it’s important to look at your finances. How much money is coming into your account each month? How much money is going out? Do you know where your money is going each month? By taking a look at what’s currently going on, you can then plan much better for future money management. If you find this difficult or triggering (which for many is an immediate response) you could consider asking a close friend or family member to look through with you for emotional support and to lend an objective ear. An impartial view can help you understand whether or not your spending is appropriate or healthy.
2. Budget time Budgeting is important, whatever position of life you’re in. It’s always important to have healthy savings, retirement funds, emergency funds, and even investments, so don’t skip this step. To help you budget, making a plan or financial goal can help a lot. So, make a physical or mental note of what you’re budgeting for, and see how much easier it is to budget. If you still find it
hard, it may be useful to use a budgeting app such as Mint – it can help you manage your money simply and easily.
3. Focus on your savings
Hopefully, you’re someone who finds it easy to put away money each month. Having savings will save you from having to borrow money at potentially risky high-interest rates, so putting money away really is an investment in a safer, fiscally healthier future. If you find it difficult to save each month, however, you can lean on the incredible world of tech. There are apps such as Chip that take out money from your savings account throughout the month (estimating amounts that won’t be noticeable) and put them in a high-interest account. This means that you can sit back and relax while an app does the hard work for you.
4. Build up investments
Once your finances are under control, now’s the time to take stock and understand where you want your hard-earned money to go. If you can, make your money work for you. That means making investments that, in the long term most usually, will reward you financially. This can be daunting at first, but there are many online sites to help.
5. Go professional
If you have savings you want to look after or have come into some money from, say, an inheritance, now could be the time to look at wealth management firms. Entrusting your money to the professionals will help you get the best returns on it and allow you to rest easy, knowing the professionals are on it.
Disclaimer: Make sure you understand the numbers and how money actually works before handing over your life savings. Additionally make sure any wealth manager invests in the assets that they are suggesting. There is nothing worse than dealing with a wealth manager who is not an investor themselves.
