Money might not be the source of all happiness, but it can contribute significantly to feelings of stress and anxiety. The less control you have over your cash, the more you’re likely to suffer from endless sleepless nights, worrying about debt and bills. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to eliminate money concerns, unless you’re lucky enough to land an amazing job or win the lottery. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t take steps to reduce your stress and improve your financial situation. The following strategies will help anyone to regain control over their financial situation, regardless of whether you’re struggling with debt, or just trying to manage a tight budget.
The first, and most important way to take control of your financial situation, is to create a strategy for how you use, save, and manage your money. In other words, you need a budget. A budget is essentially a guide you can use to determine how you’re going to spend every penny you earn. To start creating a budget of your own, write down all your expenses, and your income, to determine exactly how much leftover cash you have when you’ve paid all the necessary bills.
If you don’t have any cash left over, or you’re struggling to pay for everything, sort through your monthly expenses and look for opportunities to cut costs. You can consider cancelling subscriptions you don’t use regularly, switching vendors for your utilities, insurance, and other services, or even downgrading to a smaller house or car. Once you have your budget, examine it regularly to ensure it’s delivering the right results. As your life changes, your budgeting strategy should evolve too.
Impulsive, last-minute purchases are one of the main reasons why so many people struggle with controlling their finances. In today’s world, it’s too easy to simply click a button or swipe a card to make a purchase in an instant. However, avoiding this process of passive spending can be an excellent way to protect your savings, and improve your chances of reaching your financial goals. Before you buy anything, create a plan.
If you’re shopping for food at the supermarket, create a list based on the dishes you want to cook before you go anywhere, and think of how you can reduce costs by bulk buying and freezing certain items. If you’re shopping for a new product online, research your options, compare prices, and use discount codes to get the best deal. As well as planning how you’re going to spend your money, it’s worth keeping a close eye on your transactions too. Paying attention to what you spend, with a mobile banking or budgeting app, will help you to pinpoint areas where you might be wasting too much cash.
Debt can often make us feel like we’ve lost control of both our money, and our lives. Unfortunately, it’s a common issue for many of us. The chances are you’ll need to borrow money at one point in your life, whether it’s for a mortgage, a new car, or a personal expense. Developing a plan for how you’re going to deal with debt is an excellent way to ensure you pay off loans faster and avoid spending extra on unnecessary fees and high interest rates.
A great way to get started is to examine your current student loan debt. This is one of the most common forms of debt that stays with us for a good portion of our lives. If you’re over the odds-on student loan interest, it might be worth looking for ways to reduce the cost. You can refinance or restructure your student loan debt, by taking out a personal loan, or speaking to a refinancing expert. You can check out your options here, and make sure you think carefully about which strategy will help you to pay off what you owe the fastest.
Have you ever reached the end of a month and realized that you’ve forgotten, once again, to put money into your savings account, or emergency cash reserves? You’re not alone. It’s easy to forget about the value of saving when you’re dealing with everyday bills and expenses.
That’s why it’s such a good idea to take the effort out of the process with automation. After you’ve created your budget, and defined exactly how much money you can dedicate to your saving goals each month, create a standing order with your bank to automatically transfer a specific amount of cash from your current account to your savings each month. It’s best to arrange this transfer for the beginning of each month, so you’re not tempted to spend the money you would otherwise save in the weeks to come.
Sometimes, building wealth and taking control of your finances can seem more difficult when your bills outweigh what you actually earn. Even if you don’t have any major spending issues, you’re going to have trouble making ends meet if you don’t generate enough income. Looking for additional ways to make extra cash can reduce a lot of your stress around financial health.
You could consider getting a secondary job part-time if your current role isn’t paying all your bills. You might even think about getting additional certifications, or expanding your education so you can apply for more competitive, higher paying roles. If you don’t have enough time to juggle multiple jobs, you can even think about joining the freelancer economy, and offering your services on a part-time basis, from the comfort of your own home. There are plenty of websites dedicated specifically to freelancers in the modern world.
Losing control of your financial situation can cause significant stress, worry, and even problems with your physical health. However, there are ways you can start transforming your situation, and improving your financial health. Follow the steps above to start regaining control over your cash and remember you can always seek advice from a financial or savings advisor if you need extra help.