Spring Clean Your Finances
Spring is a great time to give your finances a once over to see how those goals you set back in January are tracking. Reviewing your financial situation, starting afresh this spring and making sure you aren’t spending more money than you need to.
Below are a few tips to help organise and freshen up your finances:
Start with a Budget: if you haven’t tracked your spending for a while, it is likely that your income and expenses have changed. There is potential for you to save money by simply making a few small adjustments.
Automatic payments: everyone has been guilty of not paying a bill on time and this often incurs additional fees. Automatic payments could be extremely beneficial and scheduling a direct debit is one way to avoid these extra fees especially for regular payments like utilities.
Check your bank statements: running your eyes over your monthly bank statements for mystery charges. By doing this you may come across charges that are not yours or old subscriptions that you may have forgotten about.
Eliminate non-essential items: small inexpensive items add up over a month. If you didn’t purchase that morning coffee or afternoon snack every day you could save yourself over $1,000 a year. Look for cheaper alternatives – if you can’t leave the house in the morning without your coffee, purchase an eco-coffee cup and start making your coffee at home to take to work.
Protect what you can’t afford to lose: If something is important and you can’t afford to lose it – it needs to be protected. Your income is imperative to your financial freedom, you need to ensure it’s adequately protected.
You work hard for your money, so make it work for you. Creating a budget and monitoring your expenses doesn’t mean you miss out on all the fun stuff. It’s about knowing where your money is going so you stay in control.
If you struggle to stick to your budget or your financial situation is becoming a bit overwhelming, JBS has a program that can help give your finances that spring clean feeling. Contact us today to discuss how Cash Coach can help you.
