Do you have a little month left at the end of your salary? Are you always short of money? And does that cause stress? The solution is to get a grip on your finances. But that is, of course, easier said than done. These five simple tips will help you on your way.
This way, you get your finances under control.
Keep a journal of what you spend
Take the time every few days, once a week, or even once a month to sit down and write down exactly what’s coming in and going out. This can be in a notebook that you still have lying around, but you can also purchase a special budget or money planner for it.
As someone who used to prefer not to look at her bill at all, I understand that you probably don’t feel like this at all. But you will see that it is ultimately very nice to know exactly how your finances are. You will start to recognize patterns and discover where you might be able to spend less money. Keeping control of your finances gives you peace of mind.
Make a plan and stick to it
Think about how much you want to save each month. That could be a percentage, like ten or twenty percent. But you can also calculate exactly how much you can realistically save based on the previous tip. Good, you now have an amount that you want to put aside every month. Then it’s just a matter of actually doing it.
People are not made for saving. It is human nature to choose the short term instead of the long term. Make it as easy as possible for yourself by setting up an automatic debit to your savings account. And by keeping the amount realistic so that you are not tempted to transfer money back to your checking account every time.
Do you find yourself transferring your savings back to your checking account too often? Then consider opening a new savings account, possibly even with a completely different bank. In other words: make that threshold as high as possible.
Read and listen about personal finance
Reading this article is a good first step to getting a grip on your finances. The more you are concerned with money and hear how other people approach it, the better your finances will be under control.
Fasting (with spending money)
Challenge yourself to fast for a certain period when it comes to spending money. For example, agree that you cannot buy anything new for a week or month (except groceries and other things that keep you alive, of course). Logically, you will not keep this up for the rest of your life, and that is not the intention.
It’s about realizing how much you spent on unnecessary things for this. But also that you find out that it isn’t bad not to shop online or drink coffee outside the door for a month.
Find out what money type personality you are
Of course, there are many more tips for getting a handle on your finances, but the truth is that everyone is different. So what works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for another. It is therefore interesting to find out what type of money personality you are. This says everything about how you think about money and how you deal with it.
There are people who (unconsciously) think that money will solve all their problems, but there are also people who are focused on saving ‘in case something goes wrong. In short: first, find out what type of money personality you are. Only then can you come up with targeted solutions to get a grip on your finances.
