How many times have you looked at your bank account and thought ‘how have I managed to spend that much, I haven’t bought anything?’ We’ve all seen how quickly small amounts add up.
So what can we do about it?
Budgeting isn’t just for businesses, with rises in the cost of living more people are using budgets for their households aswell.
We can’t predict the future but monitoring spending helps you anticipate problems. Setting a budget and comparing it to outgoings lets you learn from the past and improve your ability to control your spending.
Many people live beyond their means and don’t realise until it’s too late, getting into debt and paying extortionate interest rates.
The basics of increasing profits in businesses is the same for personal finances, you want to make sure you cover your expenses at the very least and then spend or save any extra wisely.
The key is to:
Maximise income AND Reduce costs, obviously to do both is ideal but if your income is fixed reducing your costs is the only option
This all sounds obvious but who actually does it in practice and how do they do it?
Our next article on this topic will look at setting up a basic budget but for now a great tip from moneysaving expert is before you spend anything ask yourself:
Do I need it?
Can I afford it?
Is it cheaper elsewhere?
If any answer is ‘no’ don’t buy it!