Many of us often have troubled relationships with money.
A lot of us spend more than we should, we experience buyers’ remorse, we don’t meet our financial goals, and we do not feel at peace because of money woes.
Although becoming financially free might seem like an unachievable dream to many, it is not impossible. If the big goal sounds too much, focus on doing small things that inch your way closer to the finish line.
Once you start seeing a little bit of progress, you’ll feel like you are getting there, little by little, until one day, all the work you’ve put in snowballs you closer to your goal.
7 Money Tips!
Here are some practical tips to help you take control of your finances:
Know Yourself
Buy things that will enhance you. Do not buy things that YOU KNOW will just end up in the declutter bin. For example, figure out what styles look great on you and stick with those. Do not buy the expensive treadmill that you know will just end up as another clothes dump. If you are sure that you will be using it consistently, then by all means, go ahead. But know yourself so you can make the right decision and not waste money.
Know When to Splurge and When to Save
You should also know when to splurge and when to save. For example, you need a fashionable top for this season, and it doesn’t look like it will still be in style next year – save and buy something affordable, in a good enough quality that makes financial sense for you. There’s no need to buy a super high quality, uber expensive one when you’re going to get tired of wearing it after one season.
For things that you will be using A LOT, for things/tools that need to be well-made to prevent injury, buy the best that you can afford. Buy better things that might be a little bit more expensive at first, but WILL SAVE YOU time and money in the long run. Buy the sturdier ladder so it won’t cave under your weight when you’re on it (and cause injury and incur expensive treatment). Buy the desk that doesn’t wobble so it won’t cause your laptop to drop on the floor and get smashed (and burden you with an unexpected expense). Buy the faster computer so you won’t waste hours waiting for it to do things.
Invest in Yourself
Buy things/experiences that will bring something positive in your life – for example, things that help you relax so you’ll be better prepared to face the next day, such as a good mattress/pillow. Don’t buy stuff that will most likely make you worse off – things that might cause you to develop disease, or for example, ill-fitting, poor quality, cheap shoes that will ruin your feet (and cost more in terms of pain & doctor’s fees in the long run). Buy shoes that fit well and as good a quality that makes sense for what you need it for.
Keep an Eye Out for Sales!
Now that you’ve figured out what to buy and what to avoid, it’s time to keep an eye out for sales! Don’t buy something just because it’s on sale. Instead, use the sales to buy things you need, which you’ve already figured out above, but at lower prices!
Take advantage of apps like Karma that compare prices for you, finds coupons for you, or that let you know when something in your cart is on sale!
Don’t forget your rebates! Use apps like Shopback to get a percentage of cash back from your purchases.
If you don’t urgently need whatever it is, you don’t have to buy it right away, just keep it in your online shopping cart. Wait for a good opportunity to buy it – during sales, markdown days, free shipping days, etc…
Also, check out good condition used items from trusted sellers. You can usually get quality items at a significant discount from the retail price.
Don’t Keep Up with the Joneses
Don’t succumb to peer pressure and spend more than you intended to. Often, people pressure other people into buying stuff just so somebody else will be on the same boat as they are. Your identity is not dependent on owning a certain brand. Remember that. Buy what works for you, based on our criteria above, but don’t ever let someone else pressure you into something you don’t want to do, or to do something that doesn’t make financial sense to you.
Make the Effort to Think Things Through Before Making a Financial Commitment
I’ve seen people make financial decisions without thinking too much about it. We all know buying things on installment is often more expensive overall, on average 15-25% more, but most people don’t think about the total amount they will eventually be forking out. Instead, they focus on the affordable monthly payment scheme, and often neglect to consider any fees they might incur during the course of the payment plan. If anything unfortunate happens, you’ll end up having to pay MORE on top of the higher total you are already paying.
It is actually more prudent to save up the money first (let it earn interest while you’re at it) AND THEN buy the item after you have saved enough.
- You might change your mind and not want it anymore – you get to keep the money you saved, yay!
- The price might go down, as is often the case.
- You don’t have to worry about extra charges like late fees, finance charges, etc…
You might not have the status symbol of being one of the few early adopters, but is that really important enough to you to spend the additional money just to feel that you are?
Get Out of Bad Debt
If you happen to be drowning in debt, just know that there is a way out. Many people have climbed out of debt holes so deep they didn’t think they would ever see the light!
Debt consolidation helps you get out of debt faster. It takes various debts—like those multiple credit card balances (ouch!)—and combines them into a single monthly payment, usually at a lower interest rate.
When you have several loans, it’s difficult to know where to start with your debt pay-down plan. This is where debt consolidation can help. You get all of your debt wrapped into one package, and then start paying it down.
After you become debt-free, consider cutting up those cards if you think you can’t control spending more than you planned. You need to develop the discipline to stop using debt.
