We recommendation is:
How can you save some money?
You work really hard, right? And, sometimes, your salary is not enough to pay everything you want, and that’s okay. Life is like this, right? But what if I tell you that you can save some money to buy that cellphone, computer or car of your dreams? Or to pay for that college you want to study in?
Here in this article you’ll find some tips and ideas you can use to save money weekly or monthly. You may not spare a lot of money because of your bills and week or month shopping, but even if you save just a little money it will already be a victory.
What is financial education?
Financial education is a series of studies that a person can do, independently or through a course (some schools have financial education as a fundamental part of their curriculum, others include this modality within “home economics”), so that you can learn to manage your finances intelligently, anticipating various financial and even psychological problems as a result of poor financial management (such as stress, anxiety, depression, among others).
Many may think it silly to dedicate their time to such studies. After all, managing your salary, inheritance, earnings from investments and trades, etc. It shouldn’t be that hard, should it? It turns out that, on a daily basis, people make expenses that could have a better return, fall into scams, are victims of fraud, among many other problems that can be avoided if the citizen has knowledge about personal economy and their businesses.
Getting started
So, the first thing you need to do is to have a pen and paper. Or, if you have a laptop or desktop computer, start a text or sheet document. You need to write about:
- How much do you earn per month?
- How much do you spend per month? Bills, taxes, etc.
- Do you have debts?
- Do you have any future plans? Buying a house or car, investing in a graduation, etc. (take notes about their prices, and annual fees and inflation)
Once you know the exact numbers that your finances involve, you will have the main thing you need: registrations. And this will take you to the next step.
Tips to Save Your Money
You know now how much do you have and spend, and how much do you need and want to spend. Obviously, the idea is to save as much as you can, the smartest thing you may do is trying to save a little more than you would need to pay, today, for your future plans. That’s because annual fees and inflation may increase or decrease for the next years. You never know, all you can do is get prepared for any possibility.
First of all, you need to start a plan for personal financial control. With that said, the first step is to establish your financial priorities. Your bills, taxes and debts must be at the top of this list… Once you get rid of those debts, it will become easier to save more money.
The second advice you should consider is: establish one target. A new laptop or desktop computer, that car or house of your dreams, an international trip… You can dream with everything. But you should think about those dreams that may fill some necessities, like an easy transport or a comfortable home. Of course, you can define it as a first target, new electronics or a trip, it’s up to you to decide! This is just some advisoring. Once you have no doubts about what is your financial objective, you can start saving.
Tools And Services That Can Help
When we talk about financial help, there are some apps/software and services that can help you. Some people like to pay an accountant to help them not just to establish objectives and priorities for their money, but they can help to organize sheets and advise them the best way to apply and save their money. After all, they studied to do this job.
But if you don’t have enough money to pay for this kind of service, don’t be disappointed. There are many tools and ideas you can use to start practicing financial education on your own.
For those who already have bank accounts, it would be worth checking first with the bank if they have a financial education service. Some banks offer through their apps a video platform that can teach their customers about investments and savings. There are also many webinars, and short courses, among other options on this subject, which are available in schools and universities for both students and the community in general. In a world where humanity has been going through the most diverse crises, knowing how to manage your money is fundamental knowledge.
As for applications for financial management, there are highlights for Mint, Goodbudget and Prism. In Mint, the user can categorize their expenses, register their paid and unpaid accounts, and can even synchronize the application account with their bank account. Mint is free, but you can purchase a paid version to unlock even more services to extend your financial control tools. Prism, on the other hand, is an organizer of bills already paid or to be paid, this application is free and allows you to organize yourself to pay your bills, even being able to put the validity data of each account by configuring a payment method. This app is also free.
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Talk to your bank
As stated, currently several banks around the world provide financial advice services. It is worth checking in your bank’s mobile, browser, or desktop application (if any) if there is any tab that provides financial education/advice content. If not, go to a branch and talk to your account manager. These days, there is hardly any bank that does not have such a service. A customer deep in debt also brings losses to the bank, so it’s easy to get some advice from the attendants to at least have some recommendations on where to look for courses, accountants, and financial advisors.
Conclusion
And then? Did you like these tips? These are just some basic advice that every financial education course will teach. There are many more topics within financial education, aimed at specific branches such as business or rural workers. But just starting to categorize your expenses, setting goals, and starting to search for products and services based on cost-effectiveness and not just “reputation” will already make a huge difference in the economy of your home or business.
Good luck on your financial journey and follow the blog and our social media to stay up to date on more financial tips.
