Constancy is the most important tip to organize your finances
When we think about finances, many subjects come to mind: future, success, plans, fears, dreams. One of the things that are closely linked with finances, even though many people do not see it clearly, is self-esteem.
Books and researches point out that taking control of finances, like learning how to save money, for example, can help people to boost their self-esteem and self-confidence. Not only because money allows anyone to have a more comfortable life, but also because the income earned and well-managed makes a person feel independent and autonomous.
Organizing financial life is not a complicated job; however, it requires constancy, discipline and planning. After a while, controlling finances becomes a habit and gets easier to comply with. Here are some tips to start.
Pay off debts
The first fundamental topic to tidy up your financial life is to pay off any and all outstanding debts. With debts, in addition to interest growth, it is difficult to organize income with daily expenses, unforeseen events and investments.
So try to pay off your debts as soon as you can. It is possible to negotiate a debt with the financial institution, bargaining factors such as the total amount, conditions and payment deadline. Once your debts are paid off, you will have more peace and tranquility to organize your finances.
Find out your main expenses
The next step is to understand what your main expenses are. Rent? Food? College? Car? All these expenses need to be written down, so you can find out where your monthly income is going.
With this organization of main expenses, comparing them with the monthly income acquired (salary, pension, rent, freelancer jobs), you will know how much money is left for other expenses, such as variable spending, unforeseen events and investments.
Write down your outgoing
Have you figured out your expenses? Write them down! Keeping this information in memory is not a good idea, as you will hardly remember them all and, as a result, you may end up thinking that you have more money left over than actually have.
You can write them in a regular notebook, in your cell phone’s notepad, in a financial application of your choice or in a spreadsheet. Registering them is the first step towards reaching the next step: efficient financial planning.
Make a financial planning
What Is the difference between writing down expenses and creating a financial plan? While that is a passive act, which only serves as a record, this one helps you to act actively, understanding what standard of living your income allows, how and where you can increase income, where you can save, among other actions.
In short, creating a financial plan is the way to get clarity on your earnings and expenses. With this transparency, it is easier to move safely, favoring the creation of plans and goals and giving confidence for the future.
Once you have a full understanding of your spending, impulsive acts and self-deception about money are reduced, making your relationship with it much healthier.
Revise the planning after a while
Finally, to be successful in your financial planning, it is essential to revise it from time to time. In this process, you must analyze if you can update it regularly and if the activity is being beneficial to your financial life.
These benefits mean improving the relationship with money, paying off debts, being able to save, setting aside money for a financial reserve, drawing up plans, among other actions. See what you can improve in planning and test it so that the activity becomes easier, more enjoyable and efficient over time.
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