If anything in life steals your soul, it’s finances. Those who have them can go on without a care in the world. Those that don’t, on the other hand, spend the whole of their lives stressed out to the max about where the money is going to come from to pay for all of the expenses that are hard to get away from in life.
Inflation continues to shoot skyward and cost of living is high because of that. An apartment costs more, food costs more, a car costs more, clothing costs more, and the wages stay the same. This means that people are working to get by on the basics of life. Despite the fact that cost of living makes it so that people have a hard time getting by on their minimum wage jobs, there are things an individual can be doing to better manage their personal finances from day to day. If you’re in this boat, follow these tricks:
Have a Cash Envelope
The cash envelope system is most popularly taught by Dave Ramsey, but the principal has been widely used. If you’re tight on finances or just looking to keep track of where your money is going, put your money in an envelope.
Give yourself a limit for how much you can spend in one day, or if it works better for you, sanction it off in months. For every month, give yourself a food envelope, a miscellaneous envelope, a bills envelope, a gas envelope, and so forth. Once you see where you’re money is going and that you’re running out, you’ll be less likely to spend money you don’t have.
Use Your Cards, Don’t Let Them Use You
If you aren’t good at managing your credit cards, they can be a dangerous thing to have on hand, but if you learn to use them instead of letting them use you, they can be a huge asset. Credit cards obviously come in monthly billing cycles.
If you get rewards off of your credit card, be strategic and spend money on the card that would be money you’re already going to have to spend. It’s like getting double points. You’ll have to remember to pay the bill off in full, but it’s a great way to get something back for the money you’re spending.
Learn About Loans
A person who has knowledge about a subject is less likely to get taken advantage of. In regards to loans, it’s important to know the pros and cons of them. Loans are pretty unavoidable in life, and they’re not bad if you manage them well and get loans with low interest rates. If you want to better manage your personal finances, you have to know what you’re getting into. Use them to your advantage, but never get one if it isn’t necessary.