Be a Financial Literate and Control your Financial Fate
Managing your finances is an essential aspect of an individual’s life, as many things are dependent on one’s financial status. It is not a one-day job. Financial management is a steady job that should be done in momentum.
To manage your finances, it is crucial to acquire the required financial knowledge. Some valuable tips mentioned below can be helpful to manage your finances well. They are easy to understand and implement at the same time.
Prioritize your finances
You make your finances your top priority. It will help you to build a growing relationship with your finances. It will also help you enhance your financial literacy which is an important skill to acquire.
Focus on Fundamentals
Getting into financial management can be very tedious at times. First, it is essential to let the complexities take a back seat and focus on the basics.
You can kick start with your basics such as tracking your expenses, looking for insurance, making a list of your debts etc.
Without a basis, it can be not easy to move further. Lay a strong foundation by focusing on your basics.
Financial plan
Planning is an initial step for any strategy. Before diving into your financial pool, it is essential to have both a plan and a goal. A plan is vital as it helps you navigate the way towards your ultimate financial goal.
Having a plan facilitates a smooth financial journey. Your planning includes all the details such as your spending habits, risk factors involved, risk tolerance factors etc.
It is rightly said: If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. This holds in every aspect, especially in the case of your finances.
Budget consistently
One of the primary and simple money management techniques is Budgeting. The art of Budgeting gives clear insights of all the inflows and outflows.
Right Budgeting will help you define your savings and spending habits consistently. To learn the art of Budgeting, you can refer to various online tools available.
Set financial goals
Once you have planned for your finances, it is essential to form your financial goals. It is crucial to set both short-term and long-term goals. Working towards your goals improves your financial well-being.
One you have started working towards your goals, it brings in motivation, stability and purpose.
Do not exceed your means
To avoid getting into a debt quagmire, plan your finances well within your means. This is one that you’ve likely heard time and time again. Talking mathematically, your spending should be less than your income.
If your spending exceeds your income, it might put your financial future in a risky zone. Do not get influenced by other’s spending as everybody has different income levels and understanding.
Some people might want to take loans to fulfil their wants to spend lavishly. Although many lenders offer debt consolidation loans for such people, it is essential to understand the repayment terms before borrowing it.
These lenders and financial institutions offer a loan for every amount, as small as 5000 loan.
Timely investment
Investment is an essential aspect of your long-term financial plan. Compound interest is one of the incentives of long-term investment.
Investing in long term plans can help you increase the invested amount by the difference of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Automation
Do not rely on manual contributions. Instead automate your contributions into monthly, fortnightly or weekly. Automating payments is a great way to contribute towards your investment and retirement funds.
This helps eliminate a lot of time and effort involved in making your future financially safe. It also ensures your continuous efforts towards your safe and secured future.
72-Hour Rule
The 72-hour rule is the perfect factor for any financial decision that you wish to take. It is said, think before you speak. Similarly, take time before you feel to incest.
Do not be impulsive before any purchase or spending. Always take a window of 72 hours and then go ahead with any financial decision.
Post 72 hours, if you still have decided to purchase anything, then go ahead with it as it is a thoughtful decision.
If you decide not to purchase or spend a 72-hour thought process, it has helped you save hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Accountability partner
It is always good to take expert advice. Your accountability partner will still help you be sane and reasonable for your spending, primarily through testing times.
For most people, their spouse is the best accountability partner. However, it can be any individual whom you trust completely and can share your financial secrets with.
Your accountability partner should be capable of guiding and advising you whenever required.
Focus on what you can control
There are many things in our surroundings that are out of our control and affect us too. Be wise and avoid things that are not under control.
Instead, you should focus on things that you can control. Talking about money, many factors are outside our control—for example; market recessions, inflations, the downfall of an economy etc.
On the contrary, there are many things that you can control such as your spending, your needs etc. Focus on the positive things, and it shall yield positive results only.
Build up an emergency fund
An emergency fund is a saviour for you and your family in tough times. In case of any financial crisis, your emergency fund can help you pull out of it and stabilize your current financial condition.
An emergency can occur to anyone and everyone without any specific time. For example, a sudden medical condition of a family member, sudden break down of your car or any appliances and many more.
Ailsa Adam is the Editor-in-Chief and former content head at Hugeloanlender. She has been a valuable member of the content strategy team since 2017 due to her abundant experience in the finance sector. Passionate about helping individuals navigate the world of loans and personal finance, she has dedicated herself to acquiring extensive knowledge on various financial products. Before her role at Hugeloanlender,
Ailsa worked as a seasoned journalist and writer, specialising in creating informative blogs and articles on diverse loan types. She is known for her meticulous research and commitment to delivering accurate and engaging content. She holds a degree in MBA Finance and has a keen interest in creative writing and art.
