So you think you’re good with your money? Everyone thinks that. From being frugal to having plenty of savings, there are many people out there that think they’re doing the best they can do with their money. They usually prove it by showing off their savings or by telling others that they’ve achieved financial freedom, but the reality is that they’re suffering from the same poor financial habits as everyone else.
If you really want to take control of your financial situation, then you’ll need to learn to avoid these surprisingly bad financial habits. We’ll be going in-depth with each one to give you a good explanation, and we’ll make sure that you understand just how poor your money management really is. All this is to help you realize how difficult it can be to take control of your financial situation.
Think you’re good at handling your money? You might be surprised to find out just how hard it really is. (Source)
You’re saving money, but don’t have any idea what to do with it
Savings are great. They can help us out whenever we’re in a pinch and they can even give us some safety for when we need to repair something or purchase a new expensive item. You might suddenly lose your computer because of a hardware failure, but as long as you have your savings, you can easily pay for a replacement. However, there’s a certain amount of savings that you should keep before you should actually start spending it.
One of the biggest issues with saving your money is that it slowly starts to become worthless. Interest usually isn’t enough to help you make passive income, and it’s better to invest your money into other ventures in order to grow your wealth. This article from Lifehack.org is a great resource to study if you want more information about how to grow your wealth. It’s also rather pointless to save money if you don’t have a purpose for it. Why would you save your cash for later when you can use it now to help you out?
You could pay off your debts early, you could invest the money in a business or property, or you could even just spend it to make yourself happy. In short, saving money is a great idea, but you have to remember that unless you give your money a purpose, it’s rather pointless. Even an emergency fund should have a limit, so be smarter with your cash and don’t just mindlessly save it.
You’re treating other people’s money as your own
It’s a very typical thing to use your credit card and pay for things that you can’t afford, knowing that you can spread the costs over a longer period of time. Sadly, you’re still using someone else’s money and you’ll have to pay interest on every single purchase that you make. There are a couple of rare exceptions to is and there are a couple of credit companies that will give you zero interest on certain purchases. However, most people use standard credit cards that will charge you a lot of interest for even small purchases.
If you’re forced to use someone else’s money for your purchases, then make sure you pay off those debts as soon as possible before that interest accumulates. Take a look at this article from Gregkononenko.com to learn a bit more about how you can pay off your credit card debt fast. Even if you think you’ve planned out your finances and are fully capable of paying it back, it’s never a good idea to rely on credit in order to pay for expenses.
Unless you absolutely need to buy something, always be patient. Save up your money and avoid using your credit card. While it’s fine to make purchases here and there to build up your credit rating, you should never rely on it for everything.
Having money in your pocket is overrated–there are better places to keep your money safe. (Source)
You’re not claiming money that you’re entitled to
Did you know that you’re probably owed a lot of money by someone, somewhere? For example, if you were recently in an accident, then you should probably be speaking with your insurance company or even a lawyer from AchesonLaw.ca to help you. We all take out insurance plans and we pay the premiums, but the reason we do it is so that we can offset the costs of certain things in the future such as medical bills or car repairs.
If you’ve been paying for an insurance plan but you’ve yet to actually make a claim, then it’s time to do so. There are several claims that can be made at a later date. For instance, if you had a car accident several months ago, then it’s still possible to make a claim on that incident. This is because people are usually given plenty of time to help recuperate from their ordeal before delving into the legal proceedings.
There are also other sources of money, such as benefits and welfare, that can help you with everyday things. To conclude this point, it’s important that you look at the money that you could be making and the money that you should be entitled to. Making a claim isn’t hard and the procedure is fairly straightforward, so don’t be afraid to claim what’s yours.
Hopefully, this article has made you think twice about how you treat your money. The idea is to always be two steps ahead with your cash. It’s about thinking ahead in regards to your future, and it’s about spending your money purposefully. If you want some more guidance on spending money purposefully, then check out this post from Forbes.com to transform wasteful spending. You also need to be more aware of the money you could be saving and also the money that you’re entitled to. Follow these tips, and you’ll find that you can have an even more financially secure than you thought you had.
