Few things can stress a person up as much as finances. For many people, living from paycheck to paycheck is their way of life, and it may seem as if there is no other alternative. Going through COVID and 2020 was difficult for many of us, and if we didn’t experience financial hardship ourselves, we definitely knew someone who did, and we likely were worried about our own finances. In an effort to be better prepared and hopefully avoid hardship like 2020, it’s time to take charge and have a say in where your money goes. That said, here are a few tips on how to gain more control over your finances and live a bit more stress-free. 

Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels

Better Prioritize

Each person has a ton of expenses each month, so much so that it can be hard to try and budget sometimes. Each time your paycheck comes in, the money disappears so quickly that you can’t even tell where it goes anymore. This is why prioritizing is essential to have control so that you know the most necessary expenses are covered and dealt with at the end of the day. Priority expenses include rent/mortgage, transportation, insurance, and food. After these bills have been paid, you know that you have a roof over your head no matter what happens, you can go to work, you’re covered if you need to go to the hospital, and you’ll have food in your fridge. Be sure to look at some Tax Relief Services as well if your tax obligations haven’t been a priority lately. When these expenses have been paid, you can look at the other and allocate funds to each additional expense accordingly. 

Don’t splurge

Splurging is most people’s problem and is the reason why their money runs out after the first week into the month. You may not even notice it anymore, but never missing an opportunity on a sale when walking by, and anything you need to convince yourself to buy by guiltily saying “I deserve this” is definitely splurging. The worst thing about this bad habit is you only notice at the end of the month when you’re looking back at everything you spent money on and realizing way too late that, oh no, you did it again. And, what happens most of the time is that when you actually need something, you tell yourself, “no, I need to save my money.” But, before the day is over, you spend that amount anyway on something you didn’t even need because, in your mind, you already wrote that money off. Try not to spend money on anything except what’s on your budget for one month only – you’d be surprised at how far your salary goes that month!

Invest

Investing may seem like the furthest thing from your plans at the moment, especially if you’re just trying to get through the month at this stage in time. But, investing is a way to save money if you’re not particularly good at it – the only difference is you’re not only saving money, it’s increasing as well. There are a few options to choose from when investing, with the stock market probably being the most common. Depending on what you choose, be sure to consult an expert in the industry to have some guidance on what your options are and how to go about investing the right way. I personally keep most of my money in a low cost index fund! Start small, get in a good habit, and watch your returns add up over time!

By gaining control over your money, you’ll feel liberated in a way that, for the first time, you’re actually in charge of what happens and when. After all, you’ve worked hard for your money, so take the reins a bit!

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