7 Habits for your financial health
Just how exercising and eating healthy can help you get into shape, it’s also important to take on healthy financial habits to keep your accounts in shape too.
These 7 handy tips can help you get in total control of your finances, leaving your money-related worries behind.
1. Make a budget and stick to it:
It may seem tedious but you will thank yourself later. There is power in knowing your financial standing rather than being in the dark with your incoming and outgoing finances. Try not to over-complicate it and you’ll have yourself a pretty good monthly budget that covers your groceries, bills, debt repayments and a little buffer allowance for any emergency payments as well. As long as you balance your incoming with 90% outgoing expenses and 10% for savings, you’ll be on track for a healthy spending routine.
2. Create a plan:
If you’re in too deep with debt, it’s important to structure a do-able plan. Don’t push yourself into unrealistic expectations, like paying off the rest of your University debt in a year, but cater a plan to your lifestyle. Think of active and practical steps to getting out of debt within a reasonable time-frame. Simple lifestyle changes like cutting out daily coffee runs, gym memberships and media subscriptions can save a lot in the long run.
3. Set up automatic savings:
You can never invest too little or too late into your savings. A little goes a long way and you’ll be surprised at how much can add up over time. Once you get into a comfortable position with your finances you can start increasing the amount you stash away in your savings, soon enough it will be increasing at an exponential rate.
4. Start your Super early:
Even if you’re young and carefree, it will definitely pay off if you start your super account as soon as you start earning. The earlier the better because even a year or two extra of super payments can set you up for an even more comfortable life in the future.
5. Keep track of your credit ratings:
It’s always good to know where you stand with financial institutions. Your credit rating is an important factor when it comes to securing a new loan and establishing your trust with the loan providers. This little investigation of finding out your credit score can give you an idea about whether you need to be more proactive with paying back your debts or not.
6. Run your house like a business:
Well…just in terms of finances. Keep an eye on all expenses and only allow impulse purchases for emergency situations. If you actively decide on a family budget, make sure everyone is in the loop and keep all things finance accountable. Like mentioned before, use your budget actively and log all your incoming and outgoing finances so that you’re in total control of where you’re standing money-wise.
7. Set daily reminders/goals:
Trying to stick to all these new habits can be overwhelming to remember off the top of your head. Luckily with apps such as HabitBull, Time Planner and Strides, it’s easy to set up a frequent reminder to make sure you’re sticking to your plans and keeping accountable for your financial decisions.