Photo Credit: Bruce Mars, www.pexels.com
For most of us money is tight. An awful lot of us struggle to get through to the next payday. If you are in that situation, here are a few simple tips to help you to avoid having to rely on your overdraft or credit card to get you through.
Become aware of how and why you overspend
We all have at least a few bad spending habits. Understanding what they are is the first step to tackling them. If you visit site you will find an interesting article that discusses why we have a tendency to overspend, especially during the summer months. For example, on rainy days it is easy to get bored and go to the shops to cheer ourselves up. Once there, the temptation to overspend is difficult to resist.
Understanding that you have a tendency to do that is important. It means that the next time it is pouring with rain you will think twice about going shopping. Instead, you might go to the cinema to while away a few hours. Of course, that activity will still cost you money, but far less than hitting the shops.
Use a good spending tracker
Using a spending tracker will help you to identify your worst spending habits. It will also enable you to better understand where your money goes.
The best ones do far more than just record how much you have spent. Apps like Money Dashboard enable you to set a budget for yourself and provide you with tools to help you to stick to it
If you are getting close to overspending, the app warns you about this. That provides you with time to review the situation and make the necessary changes so that you do not have to dip into your savings or use your overdraft facility.
Shop wisely
Before you buy something it is a good idea to ask yourself if you really need that item. Impulse buys can easily eat up a lot of your money. So, you will have to curb that habit to be able to get your spending under control.
Search out the bargains
Not paying too much for the goods and services you buy is essential if you want to make your paycheck last the month. The list of ways you can save yourself money on what you buy is a long one.
Price comparison websites and apps are a great resource. You can use them to save money on everything from insurance to food. Coupon and voucher sites enable you to track down all sorts of bargains.
Get your cash flow right
Getting into the habit of shopping wisely will enable you to save up and create a cash buffer. This is money you can use to cover the months where you have big bills, like your car insurance.
You need to understand your cash flow. To recognise at which points in the year you are likely to have to pay out more than you have coming in. Knowing this in advance will enable to recognise the fact that you need to spend less on non-essentials in the weeks leading up to your tight months. Again, budgeting and tracking apps like Money dashboard can help you with this.