Having a pinpointed personal financial tips that helps you have a balanced financial life is a great way to keep yourself in check, guiding you towards greater heights in your finances.
Below are selected and straight to the point personal finance tips you’ll definitely need for all time with some excerpts from LearnVest
Create a Financial Calendar
If you don’t trust yourself to remember to pay your bills as at when needed, put aside money for savings and also for investments, a good way to be proactive about this is by creating a financial calendar.
Keep Your Net Worth on Check
Your net worth, the difference between your assets and debt is the big-picture that can tell you where you stand financially. Keep an eye on it, and it can help keep you on track towards your financial goals.
Set & Have A Budget
Crafting a budget and sticking to it isn’t just for people who’ve run into hard times. A budget is a stress reducer. Ensure you have a budget and practically live by it.
Have A Daily Money Reflection
Take out time each day to have a financial reflection. Reflect on your income for the day, your expenses and the cash you have at hand. A little as some few minutes before bedtime is good enough for this routine action as it helps you to keep track of your daily financial transactions.
Have A Suitable Percentage of Your Income Set Aside For Necessities & Financial Emergencies
DO NOT wait until you’re faced with necessities and desperate situations before you’ll realize the need to have prepared before hand; a wiser way of facing the future is to be prepared for it.
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Draft a Financial Vision Board
You need motivation to start adopting better money habits, and if you craft a vision board, it can help remind you to stay on track with your financial goals.
Set Specific Financial Goals
Use numbers and dates, not just words, to describe what you want to accomplish with your money. How much debt do you want to pay off—and when? How much do you want saved, and by what date?
Adopt a Spending Mantra
As ridiculous as this may sound, having a spending mantra is a helpful way of getting rid of impulse buying. Like me, I have a spending mantra, ‘if it’s not important and urgent,(or at least important if not urgent) then it’s not worth buying’. Believe me, this mantra has saved me severally from buying things I’ll definitely end up regretting later on.
Make Bite-Size Money Goals
One study showed that the farther away a goal seems, and the less sure we are about when it will happen, the more likely we are to give up. So in addition to focusing on big goals (say, buying a home), aim to also set smaller, short-term goals along the way that will reap quicker results—like saving some money each week in order get a new gadget.
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Banish Negative Money Thoughts
It’s simply a self-fulfilling prophecy if you psych yourself out before you even get started. When you continuously use words like, “I’ll never pay off my debt!”, then you’re setting yourself up to to be a lifetime debtor. So don’t be a pessimist, switch to positive mantras.
Get Your Finances and Body in Shape
One humorous study showed that more exercise leads to higher pay because you tend to be more productive after you’ve worked up some sweats. So taking up running may help amp up your financial game. Plus, all the habits and discipline associated with, say, running marathons are also associated with managing your money well.
Learn How to Savor
By this I mean appreciating what you have now, instead of trying to get happy by acquiring more things and comparing yourself with folks who you know are in higher levels of life than you. Appreciate your present level of finances and the positive towards the journey ahead.
Associate with Financially Inclined People
Association truly matters in different aspects of life, ‘cos you gradually result to the effect of an environment. so, to be financially healthy, rebalance your association accordingly.
Pay off Your Smaller Debts First, it Will Help You to Conquer the Big Ones
If you have a mountain of debt, studies show paying off the little debts can give you the confidence and focus to tackle the larger ones.
Shop Smart – Evaluate Purchases by Cost Per Use
It may seem more financially responsible to buy a trendy costly shirt than a basic everyday shirt, but only if you ignore the quality factor! When deciding if the latest gadget or apparel item is worth it, factor in how many times you’ll use it or wear it; so you don’t buy a penny wise pound foolish item that will not last.
Spend on the Real You—Not the Imaginary You
This is one of the best advice I’ve come across. It’s easy to fall into the trap of buying for the person you desire to be while you’re still the present you with your present financial level. My advice, while you’re yet to be the first lady of Nigeria or The United States, buy for your present you and be confident, making giant strides towards where you want to be.
Start Saving ASAP
Not next week. Not when you get a raise. Not next year. Today. Because any money you put in your retirement fund now will have more time to grow through the power of compound growth overtime.
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Do Everything Possible Not to Cash Out Your Retirement Account Early
Dipping into your retirement funds early will hurt you many times over. For starters, you’re negating all the hard work you’ve done so far saving—and you’re preventing that money from being invested.
Prepare for Rainy Days, Make Savings Part of Your Monthly Budget
If you wait to put money aside only when you have enough cash, you’ll hardly have money to put aside. It advisable to always put aside money for for savings no matter how little whenever money comes into your pocket.
Know When to Invest Your Savings
When you’ve saved overtime, then start thinking about investing. like I said in one of my previous publications, you don’t save to spend, you save to invest.
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