Ensuring that your household finances run smoothly isn’t always easy, but utilising a few simple tips can help make everything run like clockwork.
Keeping expenditure lower than your income is the key to success, although even this most simple statement can be difficult to put into practice in the real world.
Read on for our top four personal finance tips to help you keep your finances on track.
Only spend what you can afford
Many people live beyond their means and end up in debt, so start by creating a budget of your income and expenditure to identify if you can cut any costs.
Look for savings on utility bills, examine household shopping expenditure and if your money stretches to online entertainment always make sure you take advantage offers like Mohegan Sun Casino bonuses for the chance to boost your bottom line.
Avoid using credit wherever possible. Taking out a mortgage is usually unavoidable, but incurring any other type of debt is rarely advisable.
Try and buy items up front – if you can’t afford to do so, question whether you really need to make that purchase.
Automate your finances
Setting up an automated system for paying your bills and saving for emergencies will ease the ongoing worry of managing your finances.
Link all your various accounts together and establish automatic payment methods as close as possible to payday for your priority expenditure.
Respected financial expert Ramit Sethi advises breaking down your personal finances to cover four key areas – 60% fixed costs, 25% guilt-free spending, 10% towards investments and 5% for savings.
Automating your finances based on these guidelines saves time and is easy to implement via online banking and money management applications.
Find a secondary source of income
Your full-time job provides the core of your annual income, but make sure you try to increase it where you can.
Take advantage of bonus schemes and overtime, but don’t miss out on opportunities away from work either.
Look for additional freelance assignments, build a property portfolio or create an online shop to boost your income and give your household finances some breathing space.
Save for your retirement
Starting paying into a pension as soon as you can, as the benefit from the reinvestment of your contributions will be far greater.
Someone starting a pension in their 20s will need to put aside far less of their salary than people who leave it until later in their working life.
Joining a workplace pension scheme is extremely advisable, with your pension fund boosted by payments from both your employer and the government.
