Wednesday, 24 April 2024
Welcome to the Adult Life.
Hop on the rocky road with a heavy dose of zest, while you encounter the cheap thrills of making money and spending it wherever you want (and regret later).
Watch your credit score build and break right in front of you (in full HD) and spend the rest of your life paying off those debts. Let’s not forget your house mortgage, insurance premium, and your child’s school fee… Okay, we’ll stop.
Now that you’re already living it and we’ve made you wish that you never grew up, let’s burst that gloomy dark bubble- No, adult life is not THAT bad, it’s pretty good actually. You can get yourself a drink, apply for credit cards, and enjoy the ‘adult-only’ rides at amusement parks.
Earning money isn’t the hard part, believe us. Managing it is a steeper mountain to climb. While we’re busy reading away those personal finance books we often forget the basic personal finance tips- or shall we say the 10 Commandments of Personal Finance.
If you’re one of those people living paycheck to paycheck, then you need to learn these personal finance tips to manage your money better. Managing money doesn’t mean earning more and/or spending cents on the dollar. It’s the bigger picture that matters.
It starts with baby-steps (preparing a budget), and these 10 personal finance tips take you all the way to financial planning salvation (retirement). Yeah, we’re talking 0 to 100 real quick.
Let’s delve into each of these 10 personal finance tips *cough* commandments that you need to follow to make your adult life as easy as cooking Ramen.
Step one to manage your personal finance is to control your spending a little bit. You cannot control your spending if you don’t know what you spend. So make yourself a budget.
Budgets are not supposed to ‘strangle you’ and restrict you to spend money; rather, a budget will give you financial freedom like nothing else and you’ll get some eye-opening insights on your spending habits.
However, managing a ledger seems like a lot of work. Make that smartphone your financial advisor and use these budget apps to manage your finances better. It’s easy, fun and you feel like Warren Buffet when you punch those numbers in!
This was the only way we could think of saying “don’t go for debt” without using the ‘D-word’. We don’t mean to be like those parents who don’t vaccinate their children, so delay taking up a loan for something that’s not urgent, life will do it for you.
Buy your dream car when you believe you can pay for it in the given time, move in with your bae to save rent, have a low-budget wedding (it’s the love of your life that matters, nothing more) and have a money free weekend. Spend what you have; do not borrow what you don’t need.
We’re all team credit card, and you should be too if you can pay off your credit card debt in the given time. However, interest rates are soaring while your credit card is roaring for more swipes.
Cutting the card and consolidating credit card debt are famous personal finance tips, but you can stop it before the worst-case scenario hits. Look for alternative options like a personal loan to fund your ops; they have a longer repayment term and a lesser rate of interest.
There’s nothing wrong with owning a credit card as long as you pay the installments on time and use it wisely. Not only will that build your credit score, but you’d also get better interest rates because you’ve been a good customer.
Spending less than what you make doesn’t make it happen. Lavish lifestyle doesn’t go a long way (unless you’re a crowned-prince, in that case, what are you doing here?) and embracing a frugal lifestyle can save you a lot.
Yes, you would have to make some sacrifices- let go of your beloved heirlooms that are of no use, move to a smaller house, settle for a hatchback rather than a sedan; taking baby-steps to a frugal lifestyle would take you a long way.
You don’t have to live like a peasant forever. Plan exotic vacations and hit the road on a budget – All that on a smaller budget than the usual! You’ll have more fun than the usual and there shall be more money to spare; Win-Win.
The best way to double your money is to fold it in half and keep it in your back pocket. Okay, bad joke. There’s a better way to double your money by investing it in the right place. Whenever it comes to basic personal finance tips, investing your hard-earned greens tops the list.
We’d give you a simple strategy that’s quite a cliché- you can choose to invest 20% of your total income in a 401(k) plan. Yes, retirement plans are too far-fetched but it’s the best way to double your money and stop caring about your retirement.
If you think that the 401(k) plan is too much work, let Blooom do it for you. Blooom is your personal 401(k) retirement planner and it does the job at a very cheap fee. The best part is that your invested money would yield returns for sure.
What will you do when an emergency expense falls on your lap? Will you have the funds needed to cover it? If not, you could find yourself in a real financial predicament, prompting you to scramble to gather the money needed to pay these unexpected bills.
You can build an emergency fund with no money by contributing a part of your savings to it in a very holistic manner. This might come to your rescue in case of a mishap and mishaps drain the life out of your personal finances.
Setting up an emergency fund is one of the most profound personal finance tips that should be followed to avoid unexpected debts. Life has a tendency to throw curve balls at us, and when that happens, being prepared is your best defense to coming out the other side unscathed.
We told you that are 10 personal finance tips would take you from 0 to 100 eh? Well, it’s time for us to have ‘the talk’. Your financial goals are a road-map to your financial well-being. On the contrary, only one in four Americans have a written financial plan.
Your short-term financial goals can be saving up enough to upgrade your smartphone, or earning money through side-hustles to buy a new guitar. On a much serious perspective, your short-term financial goals should be a walkthrough to the long-term goals.
Long-term financial goals, however, are nothing short of a parameter to your personal success. From paying off your debt to preparing your kids’ college fund, everything comes under it. Achieving your long-term financial goals is tough, but this guide will make it easy for you.
Set your financial goals- be it short term or long term, with utmost perseverance. Aim for the sky, but don’t set unrealistic goals. Take care of that.
There’s a reason why our personal finance tip #2 and #3 are an outcry to stop you from taking additional debt. Your student loan debt kicks off the vicious cycle and it continues for a good 20 years (you can pay it off in less than 10 years).
Talking about your car loan and house mortgage, let’s not forget a couple of personal loans every now and then; paying all of them off at once might be a good idea. Debt Consolidation is a remarkable strategy to pay off all your debts at once.
The choice is yours, but you must think beyond debt. Paying off debt never is, never was, and never will be your ultimate financial goal. Your ultimate goal can be to become a millionaire, which sounds cool.
No, it isn’t weird or freaky to think about retirement when you just got your first paycheck. It is rather a very prudent to plan your future. Even the top experts give out the personal finance tip that considering what one can do after retirement is a good thought.
Read through this 10-minute guide to worry-free retirement and get a hold of your likings. You can open up a scuba shop near the sea or be a bartender on a busy street. Your retirement life should be happening and free of any pressure.
You can work after retirement too, here’s a list of 7 part time jobs one can go for after retirement.
Okay, this might not be an actual personal finance tip, but if there’s a point in your life when you have an empty wallet or go to sleep hungry- don’t lose sleep over it. Every day is a struggle and tomorrow is going to be better than today. Make the most of it.
There’s no problem in your finances that cannot be managed. With the right personal finance tips, people got the notion that they could just fix it themselves; you can do the same. Of course, these aren’t the only personal finance tips you should keep in mind, but they are indeed very important.
For basic personal finance tips, if you follow these 10 commandments of personal finance- you’re halfway there. If you need answers to some specific problems, subscribe to Every Buck Counts. Also, our search bar is right there.
The road to inner peace and a healthy wallet begins here! Live your life, take care of your Benjamin Franklins and make Every Buck Count!
Source: https://www.everybuckcounts.com/the-ten-commandments-to-manage-your-personal-finances/
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