If you often find yourself thinking, ‘If only I had enough money, I would be…’, it could be that you are letting your finances control your happiness. In order to take back control, you need to work out where your money is going – and then track and manage it successfully.
Here are some tips on how you can stop letting money control your happiness.
Spend less than you earn
While it may be obvious, in order to control your finances, you should aim to spend less than you earn each month. No matter how much your monthly income, this will provide you with the opportunity to begin saving money.
If you have no idea what your outgoings are, consider tracking your spending – each and every pound of it. That way, you will have a realistic picture of your monthly spending habits. From there you can work out if you’re overspending and focus on the areas you need to cut back on.
Budget carefully
Once you have this information, it’s vital that you take the time to sit down and work out your budget for the month. If you’ve noticed that a large sum of your money is going on coffee or lunches out, for example, you can begin to make changes.
Stay on top of your bills
While it can be every tempting to ignore your bills, if you don’t pay them on time, late fees and additional charges will be added. In order to stay in control of them, arrange your bills by their pay date, and factor them into your budgeting each month. If you do find yourself worrying about paying your bills or how you’re going to get by, you could consider borrowing from a trusted lender.
Open up a savings account
There is nothing better than knowing that you are building up money every month. When you have money put aside, you won’t have to worry about any unexpected bills, as you’ll be able to cover the costs – should any problems arise.
Find frugal ways to entertain yourself
Contrary to what some people believe, you don’t need money to be happy. There are so many ways that you can entertain yourself for free. You can choose to go for a long walk, play boardgames with the kids, raid your cupboard to see what you can bake, or join a sports team – and none of them cost a penny!