I witness poor money management by my family, friends, coworkers, and strangers on a daily basis. As someone who handles money prudently, watching others manage money is occasionally cringe-worthy. Nonetheless, it does not take a financial genius to successfully manage money. In fact, developing a strong discipline for the following skills will allow you to effectively manage your money so you can avoid living dreadfully paycheck-to-paycheck.
First, look for sales and deals, and use coupons when possible. Many retail stores have deals as perks for members who own a store card. For example, some retailers have a rewards program that allows customers to build points and then use the points in the future to reduce total sales cost at checkout. In addition, joining a retailer’s rewards program opens up exclusive discounts and rebates not advertised openly to the general public. If you like to use coupons when you shop or dine out, check out Groupon and Coupons.com. Both these websites are fantastic resources for finding coupons and even have mobile applications for smartphone devices.
Next, set financial goals for yourself for not only the short-term but long-term as well. For instance, a short-term goal would be paying off all your credit card debt by the end of this year. In contrast, a long-term goal would be purchasing a house and financing it with a mortgage. Think of where you want to be in a three to five-year range, and plan accordingly. These financial goals do not have to be rigid; our lives change and so should our financial goals and plans. However, thinking about your future and determining what financial goals you might want to achieve requires planning in advance.
Third, understand how much money you spend and try to minimize wasteful expenditures. Tracking your expenses helps you nitpick which items and services you actually need versus what your heart desires. A popular app for mobile devices that tracks spending is Mint.com. This app gives you a total breakdown of not only your spending, but other areas of your financial picture including savings, retirement accounts, and budgeting. Other money management apps are available for Android, IOS, and other smartphone operating systems.
Saving money and investing leads to prosperity. If you have little to no savings, then it is time to make cuts to your budget and start reevaluating your expenditures. Emergency savings, also known as rainy day funds, are an amount of money saved in cases of emergencies. If you do not have any money set aside for when a crisis strikes, your only option left is racking up credit card debt or selling valuable assets to recoup for costly bills. Managing money not only includes budgeting but saving and investing, as well. One way to improve your savings rate is cutting services and purchasing habits that are not necessary. For example, be watchful of how many times a month you dine at local restaurants. Any money left over from your paycheck should be put aside for saving and investing purposes.
Money management is an important skill to master and everyone has room for improvement. The stronger your money managing skills, the better your savings rates will be in the long-run. Taking responsibility for your finances first starts with your money management abilities, and the sooner you master this the better off you will be for the rest of your life.
