Financing Your Life A Guide to Controlling Your Finances, Today
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Many people find the process of devoting hours and hours to thinking about money, budget planning, and spending less than enjoyable. If that sounds like you, then use these 10 budget hacks to make budgeting and reaching your financial goals much easier.
- Only use cash for spending money. You can’t overspend your budget for groceries, entertainment or clothing if you only allow yourself to use cash.
- Keep a list of frivolous “wants.” When you want something you don’t need, don’t just let yourself buy it—write it down. At the end of the month, review your list and cross off all the stuff that no longer appeals to you. Then decide whether you can afford what’s left.
- Don’t shop sales, search them. Instead of going shopping and browsing sales, then buying things you don’t really need because they’re cheap, search for sale prices on things you know you need.
- Keep a list of your financial goals in your wallet. Pull the list out and read it anytime you start feeling the itch to spend.
- Cross financial goals off your list as you achieve them. Realizing that you’re slowly but surely reaching your financial goals is the best way to stay motivated.
- Try out those budgeting phone apps. But only the free ones.
- Pay yourself first. Every payday, your first step should be to contribute to your savings and pay off a little bit of your debt. Make this even easier by setting up auto deposits to your savings and auto payments to your credit cards.
- Don’t add any more debt unless it’s a real, true emergency. If you keep spending more than you earn, you’ll keep adding more debt to your life and you’ll find it much harder to reach your financial goals.
- Borrow, don’t buy. Instead of buying everything you want or need, try to borrow it. From library books to outfits for a one-time formal event, there are many things you may be able to borrow rather than buy.
- Make your own foods. Breakfast, lunch and dinner can all be much less expensive, and much healthier, if you make them yourself.
