Five Helpful Tips for Managing Your Money to Increase Your Savings
Monday, February 10, 2014, 1:00 AM | Leave Comment
Managing your finances is something you might find intimidating. However, it’s really not. To change your financial situation for the better, you simply have to change how you look at your finances. Once you do this, managing your money and increasing your savings becomes easier and more attainable than ever before.
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Add Saving to Your Monthly Expenses
Too often the mistake people make is saving money only after their monthly expenses are paid. Instead, the most lucrative manner of saving is a bit different.
When creating your monthly budget, add your savings in as a monthly expense. This helps you save exactly what you want to save each month before considering how to spend what’s left.
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Take Advantage of Employer Retirement Accounts
If your employer offers a retirement package and matches even a portion of your contributions, take advantage. It’s free money that you get to keep and spend during your retirement.
Additionally, if you’re not contributing as much as possible each month to your retirement, you’re not earning as much free money as you should be earning.
Check with your HR department to see what you can contribute and how much your employer will match.
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Get Out of Debt
You have to learn to manage your debt before you can save. This means eliminating unnecessary debt at all costs.
To start, pay off the debts with the highest interest rates, as they’re the most expensive debts you have. Each time you pay off one debt, add that payment to your debt with the next highest interest rate and continue until you’ve paid it all off.
Now place all the money you were using to pay your debts each month into your savings account.
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Eliminate the Unnecessary
It’s certainly handy to have 1000 channels of television to watch, but how many do you really watch? It’s time to manage your finances so you’re no longer paying for unnecessary items.
If you can save $30 a month by changing your cable package to 250 channels, do it. Then place that savings into your savings account. The same goes for your phone lines and any other extras.
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Don’t Spend the Unexpected
There are times in your life when you open your mailbox and find money you did not expect to receive.
While it might be tempting to plan an impromptu vacation or buy that new couch you’ve been eyeing, it’s not a good idea. Save it. It’s free money you weren’t expecting; use it to your advantage. You weren’t expecting it, so you don’t need it; just save it.
It is easier for some people to track where their money is going by using quickbooks checks.
Managing your finances is simple when you begin to look at it from a positive point of view. You don’t have to deny yourself the luxuries you desire, you simply have to make sure you can afford them after your savings is taken care of each month. You get bonus points if you take your raise each year and apply it directly to savings, too.
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