Do you find that no matter how hard you try, you always end up overdrawn before payday? Then you vow to stay on track the next month but end up in the exact same position again. It can be hard to manage your finances, but the good news is, you don’t have to struggle alone. Here are some fast ways to help with your money issues and enable you to get financially stable.
Emergency Funding
There will always be a time when you’re hit with a large bill to be paid. Whether it’s for an unexpected vet bill or an underpayment on a monthly expense. If you don’t have a nice lot of savings to back you up, you can find yourself in quite a predicament. This is why short term loans by direct lenders exist. They can provide you with emergency funding in the form of a loan, allowing you to quickly pay the outstanding bill you have. However, these shouldn’t be your solution to just anything. If you’re running low on money but plan to go away for the weekend, a short term loan isn’t for you. Their purpose is to help you in genuine financial emergencies, not support your lifestyle.
Create A Budget
Try mapping out your monthly expenditures and comparing them to your income. Ideally, you’re going to want more coming in than going out, so taking a look at your expenses can help to reduce overspending. It’s also useful to create a budget. Take the amount you have left after all your outgoings and split it up for the month. It can be hard to stick to a budget at first, but with time and practice, it will become second nature. Budgeting doesn’t mean cutting out everything that you like either. It could simply be reducing the number of times you buy coffee on the way to work, or not buying a new pair of shoes when you already bought a pair last month. Budgeting is about being sensible and smart with your finances, so if you really want to sort your money issues out quickly, budgeting is the way to go.
Reduce Or Consolidate Your Debt
If you’ve got a number of debt repayments a month, it might be a good idea to try and consolidate them all. For example, if you have a credit card, a store finance card, and an overdraft, it might be worth taking out one loan to pay them all off and then making the one monthly loan repayment. You can find that the loan repayment amount is sometimes lower than the total amount you’d be paying than your other debts combined. This will reduce your outgoings in the long run, and you could always pop the extra money into a savings account.
Check Your Bank Statements
When you receive your monthly bank statement, do you check every transaction? If not, it might be time to spend an evening going through them as you may be paying for something you didn’t plan to. For example, you may still be paying for a subscription service you forgot about but no longer use. Without checking your statements, this can go unnoticed for years, causing you unnecessary expenditures.
Shop Around For Better Deals
It’s also worth checking out other providers of things like utilities and phone contracts as you may find a better, cheaper deal elsewhere. However, do be aware of any exit fees your current provider may charge before your agreed term is up.
Be Smart With Your Food
Similar to shopping around utility providers, don’t be afraid to try out different supermarkets. There are many cheaper brands out there that offer the same produce but at way lower prices. It’s also smart to try cutting down on the number of times you eat out and order in. Take a look at your past month’s spending and add up the number of times you did either of them, and you’ll be surprised how much you’ll have spent. Even reducing it by half will impact your spending and leave you with more money at the end of the month.
Managing your money can be a difficult task, particularly if you’re dealing with a lot of necessary outgoings. But, with careful planning and browsing cheaper options, you can save money and still live the life you want without too much compromise.
