18 signs you know how to handle money

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Check if you have financial habits that help you build up your savings and avoid an empty wallet.

1. You have savings

Under your mattress or in a savings account, you have an amount equal to your income for at least three months. These funds will be needed in case of layoffs at work, injury and other unpleasant incidents, due to which you can lose a permanent source of income. Within three months, you will be able to pay utility bills, rent an apartment, buy groceries and generally live as you used to with money from a piggy bank.

2. You save some money from every paycheck

If you replenish savings from each salary, this speaks of two good things at once. First, you don't make ends meet and you can afford to set aside some of your income. Second: your savings are increasing every month.

3. You record expenses after each purchase

The saying "Money loves the bill" did not arise from scratch, finances do not tolerate negligence. You record all expenses honestly, even if they demonstrate your budgeting mistakes. This helps to analyze what expenses could have been avoided and to adjust expenses for the rest of the month.

4. You have several "wallets"

You do not rely on memory and circumstances in such important matters as financial. Therefore, money for everyday needs is on the card, in case of force majeure - in a savings account, for large purposes like an apartment, car or vacation - on a deposit.

However, funds can also be distributed in paper envelopes - it is important that there is no risk of accidentally spending the savings allocated for other purposes.

5. You know how to save

You know many ways to save money on everyday purchases. For example, you take large packages to lower your unit price, don't go to the supermarket on an empty stomach, and you know all the tricks of merchandisers that push you to rash purchases.

6. You Avoid Waste

There are several simple ways to throw money away: buying bags at the checkout in supermarkets, takeaway coffee, and so on. But you are savvy in this matter and clearly know what expenses can be easily avoided.

7. You make a shopping list

The easiest way to avoid unnecessary expenses is to understand in advance and with a sober head what you need to buy.

8. You plan a budget for the month and year

A personal financial plan makes your relationship with money simple and straightforward. You know what expenses are inevitable and how much money is left for pleasure, predict large expenses and can start saving money for them in advance. This allows you to avoid the "swing", when your pocket is empty, sometimes thick, and to provide yourself with everything you need.

9. You are not looking for change in your pockets two days before your paycheck

You do not have situations when in the last days before your paycheck you have nothing to buy even bread and milk. There can be two reasons: either you are masterly planning your budget, or you earn more than you spend.

10. You pay utility bills, taxes, fines on time

Penalty interest is an extremely unpleasant financial punishment for forgetfulness and indiscipline. But it can be easily avoided if all bills are paid on time. You know about it and do not misfire.

11. You have financial goals and a plan to achieve them

You save up for a vacation, a car, or a controlling stake in an oil and gas company. At the same time, you know exactly how much money you will need, taking into account inflation, set a realistic deadline for achieving the goal and save the amount on a monthly basis according to the savings schedule. This approach indicates that you will succeed.

12. You are guided by prices

You know how much your usual products, household chemicals and other everyday goods cost. Therefore, the hand will not reach for canned food "for action", because you remember that in a nearby hypermarket they are half the price at a constant price. This helps you to choose the best deals from the stores and not waste any excess.

13. You use apps that help you save money

It is foolish to ignore modern developments if they ease your financial burden. There are various apps that track promotions and compare prices for items in different stores. And you don't even have to get off the couch for such financial analytics.

14. You do not borrow from friends, relatives, acquaintances

Living within your means is one of the main principles of good money management. Accordingly, if your income is not enough and you have to ask someone to participate in your life financially, albeit with a return, then something in your financial planning went wrong.

15. You do not take consumer loans for things for which you can save

Even if you are promised a loan at extremely low interest rates, most likely, it has insurance, additional warranty service for goods or something else that will make you overpay. At the same time, many purchases, for example a new phone or a game console, are not vital - you can have a little patience and save money.

16. You can count

Most likely, the school algebra course never came in handy for you, but the knowledge gained in mathematics lessons is needed every day. The simplest calculations help to understand how it is more profitable to buy goods - with a card or with a special offer, whether the cost of travel does not exceed the benefits of discounts and whether to issue a bank card with a cashback if you pay 1 thousand rubles a year for it, and return only 50 rubles to month.

17. Do you have a plan to increase your income

Even if you get enough to live without saving, it is unproductive to be content with this income. Therefore, you are looking for ways to become a higher-paid specialist: you constantly study, make useful connections, participate in promising projects. In addition, you can see in which direction it is worth growing in order to increase income.

18. You are interested in investing

Even if you do not yet have an amount that could be profitably invested, you are interested in deposits, stocks, investments and other ways to make money work. This is the right approach, which in the future will help at least not to lose part of your savings due to inflation.