10 Good Habits To Keep Your Finances On Track
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Sometimes it’s the smallest things that can make the biggest difference. When it comes to your finances, there are lots of small things you can get into the habit of doing that should help keep you on track. Here are 10 good habits you can implement to keep your finances on track.
10 Good Habits To Keep Your Finances On Track
1. Check Your Bank Account Everyday
Knowing what’s happening with your money is so important to keep your finances on track and checking your current account every day is a really good way to do this.
Checking daily enables you to have a clearer overview of your outgoings and should make spotting any unusual or fraudulent activity much easier. It’s also a great way to identify any payments going out for things you no longer use such as monthly subscriptions.
2. Create a Budget
Budgeting is the best way to be aware of where your money goes each month and can help control overspending. Budgeting doesn’t have to mean missing out on things either – it just means prioritizing what’s important to you and saving where you can.
One of my favourite methods for a budget is to use cash envelopes. You can only spend the cash inside them and once it’s gone it’s gone!
3. Pay Yourself First
Paying yourself first means adding to your savings at the start of the month, rather than saving whatever money is left at the end. If you’re the type of person that spends money just because it’s there this could be a good habit to get into. Essentially, look at your savings as a bill that needs to be paid along with all your others outgoings.
4. Have An Annual Review
Once a year it’s worth taking some time to sit down and review everything you spend money on during the year.
From utilities to your mortgage to train fares to car insurance, there is almost always a way to save, all it takes is a little research.
Even if you are tied into contracts, make a note in your diary of when they end so you can make savings then.
5. Remember It’s Okay To Haggle
People always seem to be nervous about haggling but it can be worth it if it saves you a tonne of cash. It doesn’t even have to be in person, I wrote all about how to haggle with Sky TV online – you don’t even need to pick up the phone.
If you are feeling brave you could try haggling in places like Curry’s, especially if you’re spending on big ticket items like televisions. Money Saving Expert reports that 74% of people had success haggling in TK Maxx and 72% had success in John Lewis (always good because of their 5-year guarantee on electricals).
Making haggling a habit could save you a fortune.
6. Have A Digital Declutter
Sometimes it can seem as though everywhere we look someone is trying to sell us something. Between Facebook Ads, Email marketing and the rise of the Instagram influencer, it can be easy to be sucked in to continually wanting to buy things.
Unfollowing and unsubscribing should help you see more content from friends and family and keep your inbox looking less cluttered.
Remember, if you do want to buy something, you can search for discounts as and when you need them, rather than having them sent directly to you.
7. Always Compare Prices
Before you buy anything it’s always worth comparing prices. Whether it’s car insurance or gas and electric there it’s always worth trying to see if you can save. Pop your details in and the comparison site will do all the hard work for you (and save your details for next year too!).
My favourite comparison website is Compare The Market just because when you purchase insurance through them you get Meerkat Movies and Meerkat Meals which gives you 2 for 1 meals and 2 for 1 cinema tickets for a year – having these saves us a fortune!
It is also worth mentioning that some providers aren’t on comparison websites so you may need to go to them directly to get a quote.
8. Wait 24 Hours Before Buying Anything
This is a good habit to get into if you want to save money. Impulse buying can lead to overspending and can lead to spending regret as well.
Leaving something 24 hours before buying something should let you know whether or not you really want it or whether it was just an ‘in the moment’ thing.
If it was online, it could also give you time to look for a voucher code or go through a cashback site to save even more money.
9. Pay Into Your Pension!
I recently wrote a post all about my lack of pension and looking at the pension calculator and seeing how little I’ll have to live on in retirement is pretty scary!
‘ve seen a lot of people recently say that they’ve opted out of paying into their pension. While I can understand the short-term gains in doing this, it is detrimental to your future self.
When you pay into a pension, your employer pays into it meaning by opting out you’re essentially throwing away free money.
10. Have an Emergency fund
Having an emergency fund is so important for keeping your finances on track. It means in case of emergencies, such as the boiler going kaput or the car failing its MOT you have money there ready to sort it out, without the need for a credit card and without getting into any debt.
These are my 10 good habits to keep your finances on track – would you add anything?
