PERSONAL finances are a pain, aren’t they? We’ve all got money, but how much we have is dependent on the work we do and the life we lead... In that same regard, managing our finances and staying organised can be really tricky for some people. We’re not always taught how to be financially organised as part of our education, so a lot of us have to figure it out as we go. To try and aid with that, we’re going to be looking at a few steps that you can take to create a more financially organised life for yourself.
1.Budgeting
Your biggest and perhaps best step toward a financially organised lifestyle is learning how to budget effectively. A budget is something that everyone needs - it helps to allocate funds to particular areas of your life; household bills, social events, debt repayment… they all need to be taken into consideration when it comes to you and your life. By having a budget, you help to ensure that no matter what happens, you’re taking the time to plan out what you spend and when.
2.Have an emergency fund
You never know when disaster will strike. Something can easily come up which will require a lot of money. Your car might break down, or you might find that something in the home needs to be replaced. When this happens, it’s important that you have an emergency fund saved up, so that if you need to, you can pay for things without upsetting your main finances. An emergency fund gives you peace of mind and doesn’t leave you scrabbling around in your main finances to desperately find the money you need.
3.Consolidate your debt
Do you have a lot of debts scattered about? Most people do. Various loans and new items available on credit from companies, a lot of people balance multiple loans, all of which come from different places. However, that’s a chaotic and stressful way to track them. If you can consolidate your debt down into a set of smaller ones, it’s well within your interest to do so. Consolidation means that all the money you owe to various places is condensed down into one place, which means it’s so much easier to keep track of what you’re paying, when you’re paying it, and most importantly who you’re paying to.
Overall, these are just a few of the steps that you can take to ensure that you are working towards a financially organised life. It’s difficult at first, budgeting and planning and being cautious. We appreciate that people aren’t always conservative with their funding or forward thinking with debt. However, it’s really worth it to try and make sure that you have a financially organised life. You’ll see that it’s a lot less hassle, and also much easier to keep track of everything if your finances are available in full, easy to understand. Not only that, but you’ll know exactly what you’re spending, and how your finances are working out, especially when it’s difficult to keep to track of so many different sources of wealth at once.
Duncan Fernie, graduate trainee at Blackadders Wealth Management