Smith Business and Finance

There’s nothing more we want than to be able to efficiently manage our money. After all, the money that we want to manage is money that is oftentimes, hard earned. This is where a budget comes in. A budget executed properly, should help you see where your money is going, get more utility out of every buck, and help you save some extra for future use.

The first smart secret to a budget is to set a goal. What do you want to achieve? Do you want to correctly appropriate your income into bills payments? Do you want to put an amount aside for a big purchase or a huge investment? By having a goal, you will be able to shape your budget to best serve your interests.

Secondly, you would want to take note of where your money usually goes. This includes bills, major but regular purchases (like grocery costs, healthcare costs, and the like), and everyday miscellaneous purchases. Only when you list down where you know your money usually goes will you be able to identify which expenses you can do without. Once you’ve identified these regular expenditures, take into consideration what you can cut back on. How much do you spend on your daily caffeine fix in the morning? How much do you spend on newspaper deliveries to your front door? The measly $2 or $5 of these small purchases cumulatively translates to more than $3600 a year! Instead of buying your expensive latte or reading the newspaper on print, put aside the amount you would usually pay for these small routine purchases in a small container. You will be surprised at how much you’re saving out of your older budget.

Being indebted is a vicious cycle on its own. You’re talking about continuous payments, not to mention huge interest rates. The best way to deal with this is to pay the minimum on all of your debts in order to avoid paying extraneous late fees. Whatever cash excesses you may have, you can opt to add on to the payments you make in your biggest debt. This way, you are concentrated on getting the biggest debts first that cost you the greatest interest rates. Doing this progressively, you’ll be amazed at how much you’ll get off your huge debts.

The last and most important step is to jot down the amount you earn the sum you spend. You can make use of computer cash management programs, or make database sheets of your own. Make a system that works for you and will help you keep track of your monthly budgeting progress.

Wise money management is essential for a balanced, happy life. Financial stress resulting from poor money management skills can affect our capacity to make good decisions, harm our relationships, affect physical and mental health, and ultimately to function well in life. It is no exaggeration to say that poor money management breaks up marriages and breaks down hope. Yet, money management is a skill which can be learned. Even if financial problems are largely the result of just not earning enough income, good money management skills can reduce the stress of these circumstances and provide a bit more mental room to focus on solutions.

Here are six tips for managing your money wisely, which, if applied, will improve the overall quality of your life:

KNOW WHERE YOUR MONEY IS GOING. It is important to stop the financial leakage. We all know what it is like to have our money dribbling away one coin or one note at a time. It is important to pay attention to our spending. It can be very helpful to record all expenditure for a set period of time just so you know where your money is going. Prepare to be shocked; most people have no idea how much money is being lost to unnecessary expenses. Once you know where your money is going, you can curtail unnecessary expenses.

DESIGN A BUDGET THAT WORKS FOR YOU AND STICK TO IT. You can design your own, or get a free budgeting form off the internet. Make sure at least some of your money goes to debt reduction and savings. Create a budget that will meet your financial obligations and if you have to cut down on certain expenditures to live within your budget then do so. Once you remove the stress of financial insufficiency through good money management, you will find you are able to improve your financial circumstances gradually. This is next to impossible when you are overspending.

PAY YOURSELF FIRST. Treat yourself as your most important creditor. Determine an amount that can be saved weekly, fortnightly or monthly for long term purposes and emergencies and save it regardless. Somehow we manage to find the money for the phone bill, the rent etc so much decide to find the money for savings. This money management decision is life changing as over time it leads to financial independence.

AUTOMATE YOUR PAYMENTS. When things get stressful and we become overwhelmed with financial worries, our financial affairs can get out of control very quickly. Internet banking can solve a lot of this problem. If a part of your problem is that your income is inadequate, then automate some or most of your payments. Doing this, releases the stress of having to find the money for a lot of different payments. You may still be short one or two payments but it is easier to look for a solution for one or two payments as opposed to six or seven. Effectively, automating your payments saves you time and stress and helps you to take control of your financial affairs.

CONSOLIDATE DEBTS. If you are able to consolidate a number of debts into one loan at the lowest possible interest rate, your monthly expenditure will decrease, sometimes by a lot. If you own your own home, you will be able to get a home equity loan at comparatively low interest, which is a better option than a personal loan.

USE MONEY FOR THINGS OF LASTING VALUE. So much money is spent on items that have no lasting value and give no lasting pleasure. Many of this spending is at the expense of those things that actually do matter and will really benefit us in the long run such as owning property, funding retirement and paying for education.

These money management tips can improve the quality of your life by helping you take back control of your finances, reduce stress, increase savings and make better long term decisions regarding your spending.

Do you feel like you do not have enough money? Try as, do you have a difficult time paying your bills? Can you barely make a living out of your paycheck?

Many women expressed these same frustrations. Sometimes we splurge on a good pair of shoes or a nice dinner with friends. Or, we forget someone’s birthday and at the last minute and left without buying a gift. Or, simply can not seem to stretch our salary to pay all our bills.

That’s why it is important to begin to find out where our money goes – every year, month, week or even every day. The following information provides some basic guidelines to help you develop your own plan for managing money.

Personal Money Management is a plan for managing income and expenses. It tells how much money you have and how much you spent. It also tells you how much you can afford in the future. It tells you what you can and if you can afford.

With a personal money management:
- You can plan how to spend your money so that you do not get into financial trouble.
- You will be in full control of your money.
- You will be prepared for emergencies
- You can avoid getting into serious debt.

It also provides you with economic security and have the ability to plan long-term goals such as buying a car, buying a house, or going on nice vacations.

How do we start?

There are four steps in developing your Personal Money Management Plan:
1. Listing your expenses.
2. Listing of income sources.
3. The comparison of income and expenditure
4. Set priorities and make changes so that your income will exceed its costs.