When it comes to sorting out your family finances, it might feel like an uphill battle. There is alway something lurking round the corner, some expense that you hadn’t thought about and just when you think that you have figured it all out, that’s when something else comes along. We know it can be frustrating, and it’s hard when you’re not really sure which way is up and which is down. But, this is why you need to get sorted once and for all, and we’re going to help you with this. In this article, we’re going to be taking a look at some of the things that you should be doing in order to sort out your family finances, so keep reading down below if you would like to find out more.
Get A Budget Sorted
The first thing that you need to do is get your budget sorted. Go through all of your incoming expenses and then compare it to the outgoing. Take all of the outgoing expenses away from the incoming, and then you have the amount that you have left for other things. Make sure that in your budget there is room for everything including all of your bills, and even some for savings so that you are building yourself up a little cushion. The last thing that you want is to have no money in savings, and have to rely on loans when you need things. This is only going to make the cycle worse which is certainly not something that you need in your life.
When it comes to budgeting, ensure that you are allowing extra room. So if one of your bills is 127, round it up to 130. It may only be a little amount, but every little helps when there is something that you need and you have nothing. Setting your budget isn’t the difficult part though, it’s keeping to it once it has been set. We know that, but you need to find the willpower to do so, or you’re never going to get yourself sorted financially.
Check Out Reviews And Deals
Another thing that you should do is check out reviews and deals when you are going to be purchasing something new. Ideally, you should never buy anything new if you haven’t checked the reviews and looked around to see if there are any offers somewhere that would be better value for you. We understand that this can be time consuming and that there are often times where you don’t want to spend ages doing research, but it has got to be done if you want to get yourself financially on the right track.
An example of this would be when it comes to mobile phones and you are searching for the right network. All of them have different tariffs on offer, with different deals going on all the time, and you need to know how to choose. One network might have a fantastic deal, but all of their reviews from customers are awful. If this is the case, then it’s not worth it as they might try to do you out of more money in the end. Mobile phone network comparisons are easy when you can find somewhere that gives you all the information you need, so you have just got to keep your eyes open.
Save For Large Purchases
If you know that you are going to want to make a large purchase such as a car, you need to start saving for it. You can’t just assume that you are going to have the money, or that you will be approved for finance, or even that you can take out a loan. Even after that, you are going to have to pay for insurance, tax and everything else that comes with it. Instead of relying on things like this, why don’t you take the time to save up? At the end of each week or each month, put whatever you have left and haven’t spent into a jar and this is your big purchase fund. It will steadily grow if you keep putting your spare money in it at the end of the specified time period. More than that, you can even put your spare change in there when you walk past. Let’s be real here, nobody really uses loose change anymore, it’s more of an inconvenience than anything else!
Work out how much you are going to need, and then set yourself a goal. Decide when you want to make your purchase, and then work towards that goal until you reach it. It might take longer, or you might get there quicker. You never know what’s going to happen until you put your mind to it.
Don’t Live Beyond Your Means
One problem that a lot of people have is that they are obsessed with living outside of their means. By this we mean that they buy things that they can’t afford, and then end up in a lot of debt because they wanted more than they could afford. The thing that a lot of people forget is that you have to pay debt back. It’s not like it’s just free money that you can spend, and if you don’t pay it, then the interest just grows and grows until the lender takes you to court.
Living beyond your means is an awful way to get yourself into debt as most of the time you don’t actually need what you are buying. It’s important to understand here that buying necessities that you need by taking out loans does not count as living beyond your means. This is just what happens when some people are down on their luck and don’t have any other option. Of course, this is not good, but it’s not the same as living beyond your means to buy luxuries that you couldn’t otherwise afford.
Dig Out Of Debt
If you are in debt already, then you need to start working your way out of it. We know that this is far easier said than done, but it can be done, and you need to do it. No more excuses about how difficult it is, your family deserves more than having this debt hanging over their head for the rest of their lives. As such, you need to call everyone that you have borrowed money from and then set up payment plans with them. Tell them about your situation and how much you can afford to pay them per week or month. If you approach them rather than making them chase you, they are much more likely to agree to a payment plan, so keep that in mind.
Or, if you want to do something even easier, get a consolidation loan, pay off all your debts, and then only owe money to one lender. The only issue with this is that interest rates are generally quite high, but you’re likely already paying a huge amount already depending on how many debts you have with different lenders.
Cut Down Where You Can
Where possible, you should be cutting down on how much you are spending. For example, make sure that you are turning the lights off when you leave a room and use energy efficient bulbs. This is going to save you a fortune on your energy bill, which is likely one of the most expensive in your entire house. When you go food shopping, instead of buying everything branded, try some of the unbranded items. We promise you that a lot of them taste the exact same, and if someone gave you them in a blind taste test, you would barely notice a difference. Of course, this is not true for all foods, but it is for the majority.
You should also try to cut down on the luxuries that you are spending money on until you are in the clear. Ideally, you shouldn’t be buying yourself luxuries that often until you are out of debt and have some savings in the bank. We’re not saying that you shouldn’t take the time to enjoy yourself because you absolutely should, just think about how often you are doing this and how much money you are spending. We promise that if you cut down on these things now, you will be able to sort your finances out faster, and then you will be free to spend your money on whatever you want in a little while.
We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now see that sorting out your family finances can be easier than you think it is. It might feel like it’s going to take forever, and it might feel as though it’s impossible some days, but we promise you that it isn’t. Now that you have seen some of the things that you can do to sort out your family’s finances, you can start putting the ideas into practice. We wish you the very best of luck, and hope that this works out well for you.
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