What are some good ways to better manage my finances?
I just got a new job, which comes with increased income. I want to use this as an opportunity to really understand where my money goes. I'm not bad with my finances but I'm not excellent either. I don't have much debt other than student loans (no credit cards, or high interest loans, etc.) I don't pay bills late, I have a good credit score and I don't live pay check to pay check. But I also can be pretty lax about tracking my checkbook and expenses. I would really like to increase the amount of savings I put away and pay extra to my student loans. I really feel I'm not going to have a true understanding of my financial picture until I put it all in black and white, so I'm making a commitment to myself to keep better track of it. I've set up some spreadsheets to track my expenses, a budget and my checkbook, but I'm not sure that is enough. Anyone have any tips to help keep me on track or common pitfalls to avoid?
Public Comments
- " I also can be pretty lax about tracking my checkbook and expenses." work on that really; and the rest of your financial situation seems pretty okay! Do avoid spending on uneccessary things- meaning items you know you dont really have to buy. Save money contually as you are doing.Continue paying bills etc ontime and dont overspend etc and Im sure you'll do as fine as u are doing now really. Good luck!
- do a budget which should include your daily, weekly, monthly, etc. expenses. to get a good idea as to how much you spend. make this your budget and stick to it. create an emergency set aside in case you go over or forgot to add something to your budget. Be sure to add the exact amount your with to save as well. If your student loan interest rate isn't high, you may want to find way to invest the extra money It may have a better return on it. Also make sure you are maxing out your 401k plan. There's a much more you can do. this is just a few thing you can think about. I do posting on stayinformed.info from time to time regarding this topic.
- I used to hv similar problem. I wld pay my monthly bills using personal checks, tried to avoid using credit cards but used cash instead. In this way, i cld determine how much cash i wanted to withdraw for my monthly usage. It worked well for me. Now i am not working. My husband pays all the bills and all my needs. I hardly hv to spend on anything on my own.
