Whether you’re in deep financial trouble, or your money situation is in good shape, there are always things you can do to improve it. It's not that hard to develop better money habits to maximize your finances.
The more you can do to take control of your money right now has a direct effect on how you live your life in the future. Ignoring it will only cause you problems.
Below are some good money habits you can start right now to help get control of your money, get out of debt, and ensure that your financial future is as bright as it can be!
5 Ways to Improve Your Money Situation
Build an Emergency Fund
Building an emergency fund entirely changes how you approach your money situation. No longer will you have to rely on credit card debt to get out of a jam!
You won't have to struggle for months or even years to pay off an emergency because you had cash on hand to deal with it.
A solid emergency fund allows you to deal with it your emergency in the moment and move on with your life. It's financial peace of mind you'll never achieve as long as you use credit cards.
Track Your Spending
Here's a great exercise I recommend in my online course.
Write down every penny you spend for one month. Enter it in a small notebook you carry with you or as a note in your smartphone. Then, review what you’ve spent your money on and how much.
You'll probably be surprised what you're spending your money on. Once you know how you spend money, then you know where to tweak your spending and better organize your money every month. I wholeheartedly recommend this habit as a first step toward doing a written budget every month.
Do a Written Budget
After you track your spending for an entire month, sit down and make a written budget every single month. When get in the habit of budgeting, you’re planning how to use your money in the near future instead of wondering where it all went in the recent past.
When every dollar has a name and a purpose before you spend it, you waste less, save more, and your money doesn’t trickle away like water from a leaky faucet.
Go to the CFF Budgeting Page for blog posts on how to budget, and free printable budgeting worksheets.
Sell Anything That Doesn’t Add Value to Your Life
Take an inventory of all the stuff you have. Look at everything in the attic, the basement, the closets, and that storage unit you’ve been renting month after month.
You don’t need most of that stuff, and probably haven’t used it in a long time anyway. All it does is take up room, adding zero value to your life. Sell your junk on Amazon, have a yard sale, or give it to charity.
When you simplify your life by getting rid of all the junk and clutter, you become much more free.
Start Paying Yourself First
Actually I believe in paying tithes first. But after that, your first priority should be to save money for you and your family before paying any bills. If you make saving money as important and automatic as tithing, your money situation will improve!
Decide on a percentage to save out of your take home pay and stick with it (I recommend 15%).
A great tip is to have it automatically deposited to savings every month so you don’t have to struggle with making that decision every time you get paid. When you make saving automatic, you don’t even miss it.
Here are some great posts about saving money you might find helpful:
How to Save for the Future When You’re Living Paycheck to Paycheck
Save For Retirement or Pay Off Debt- What Should You Do First?
13 Ways To Save Money On A Low Income
Always Have a Plan For Your Financial Situation
I say this all the time and I’ll keep saying it until everybody gets it; When you have a good plan for your money and you work that plan, you WILL start succeeding with money. You WILL prosper.
So start taking control now , develop good money habits, find ways to make extra money, and you will continue to see the benefits long into your financial future.
These are just a small sample of the many things you can do to start improving your money situation now and begin taking control of your finances. There is plenty more you can do!
What steps have you taken to take control of your money?
What benefits have you seen?
Leave a comment and let me know.
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i personally use the mint,com app to track my spending daily and it works with putting things into categories for your budget.
Mint is great for keeping track. Anything you can do to keep up with where your money is going will definitely help you in the long run. Thanks Cliff!
Putting yourself is a great tactic to see personal finance in a positive light. Great advice