There are many do’s and don’ts when it comes to managing your personal finances. However, outlined below are 3 simple tips to help you on the way.
Budget: Identify ALL your expenses and review your budget on a regular basis:
To manage your finances you will need to prepare a household budget detailing what you receive and spend out each month as a family unit. The income less the expenditure will represent how much money you have left over each month. Many individuals carry out this exercise but miss out some crucial expenses by accident. This in turn gives them a false impression of what their net income/ deficit position is. Common expenses that are missed out are car insurance/car tax, average monthly socialising expenditure, tax payments, average monthly holiday expenditure and some regular cash payments. Once you have made out your household budget, it is crucial that you review it on a regular basis and compare it to your actual monthly expenditure. If you are spending or receiving more than you anticipated you will need to update the budget accordingly.
Pay yourself first:
One of the biggest mistakes families make when it comes to budgeting is to take their income and spend it