How to improve your personal finance!

Many people have trouble with paying off their debt or increase their savings. Although there are many ways to achieve these goals, it’s usually quite hard to get started and stay on the right track. Here are some tips on how you can start saving this instant and make steps to reduce your spending every month!

First off you should realize that, if you want to save more money or pay off your debt faster than you are doing now, you will have to make some choices in every day life. You simply can’t have everything you’re having now, and have more money at the same time. So let’s start by realizing and accepting the fact that you’ll have to sacrifice some luxury you were enjoying until now. You will probably have to make a different between things you “need” and things you “want”. This can be harder than you think, since us people have a habit of finding excuses to think we “need” things we actually only want. Here’s a radical but true example: You may think you need your cell phone, while in fact you don’t. People have been fine without a cell phone for decades before they were ever invented. I’m not saying you should completely ditch your cell phone, but I am saying you should consider taking a (much) cheaper cell phone plan. Try to find a compromise with yourself between saving money and getting a new cell phone every year. Maybe you’re okay with having the same phone for 5 years. This will allow you to save big amounts of money on an expensive cell phone plan. This principle goes for pretty much anything you spend money on.

The second thing you’ll need to learn is to be very aware of every single thing you spend money on. Check your bank account for the last 3 months and write down everything you’ve paid money on. Separate returning costs apart from one-time costs. After you have a complete list of all the things you spend money on, find a way to remove or reduce all of these amounts. Do you really need the thing you’re paying for? If not, do you feel like you should continue paying for it, realizing you also want to save money? Are you willing to give up having that certain thing or replacing it with something cheaper or free? Try to eliminate as many spendings as possible.

Here are some examples of things you can save money on:

• Cell phone
• Insurances (if you haven’t made a claim with the insurance for 2 years or more, you don’t need it!)
• Lease contracts (eliminate these ASAP!, including all other loans)
• Stop using your bank card and credit card. Only use them if you really have to!
• Cook your own dinner instead of going out or ordering.
• Buy store-brand instead of A-brand
• Consider cheaper forms of travel, i.e. Bicycle, bus, walking etc.

Good luck!