Tag: how to manage money

A few years back, I was always in the very 
frustrating place where bills would constantly   pile up and yet I had no money to pay them off 
(If you have ever been in this situation then   you probably that it can be really stressful 
and hard on you). The good news is that,   over time I did manage to prowl my way out of 
this situation, and you can too.

Therefore,   in today’s video, I’ll be sharing with you all 
tips, tricks and strategies that you can use   to get out of this situation, and hopefully get 
ahead in your own personal finances. Stay tuned. However, before I get into the topic, 
do me a favour – subscribe and hit   that like button because it really 
helps with the YouTube algorithm. Thank you, and now let’s get into it. Alright, so, the list begins with…

1. Keep track of your spending. You’ve probably already heard this a million 
times and you are going to hear it again today,   simply because it works and because you are 
probably not doing it. Basically, it should always   be a priority. Make sure that every single penny 
you spend is clearly accounted for. The basic goal   of expense tracking is to find and get rid of 
inefficient spending patterns in your financial   life.

Additionally, maintaining control over 
your finances and encouraging better financial   practices like saving and investing will come 
from continuously keeping track of your costs. Basically, in the words of Peter Drucker, “If 
you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it”. So this is what you should do to get in 
control of your spending habits: First,   analyse your categories of spending to determine 
which are the most crucial. Perhaps you might   even find out that you've been paying for a 
subscription that you’re not using (I know I have,   and maybe you are too). Most people 
consider that cutting back on these   “non-essential expenses” is a wise approach 
to saving money. You might also want to go   for activities that are less expensive now 
that you can see where your money is going. And on top of saving money, you’ll 
be getting educated on some of the   topics you’ll be reading about.

So, there 
really isn’t much to lose by doing this. 2. Make a budget. I never understood why most people didn’t 
have a budget until recently. You see,   most people are worried about all the paperwork 
to be done to complete a budget. Well, in truth,   it’s a lot of work, but it most certainly 
is worth it. You see, you should look at   budgeting from a different angle. Look at the 
positives and look at how much is it going to   benefit you. And once you’ve got a rhythm 
going, make sure you stick to it. I’ve   found this to be the only way that works. 
So make sure you don’t lose the momentum. If you create a budget and then store it 
away in a file or folder on your bookshelf   or filing cabinet, it’s simply worthless.

So 
make you’re constantly updating and review it,   you can also use digital apps and software 
to make this task a lot easier. There are   a bunch of really good free ones online, 
which you can find with a quick search. And if you are interested, I created a 
free savings and budgeting guide which   you can get with the link in the descriptions. 3. Give yourself a limit on unbudgeted spending.
Buying something in the spur of the moment that   you hadn't budgeted for, can be enjoyable 
and emotionally satisfying – literately   everyone knows that. However, that 
emotional high may pass quickly,   leaving you with impulsive purchases 
you don't actually need – or want. If this is you, then then the 
bitter pill to swallow is that,   this has to stop! In fact, it’s the 
entire opposite of good money habits. Next time you are in the mall, try using the 1% 
rule for spending money. This rule states that,   you have to wait a day before buying anything that   costs more than 1% of your yearly gross 
income, so if you make $60,000 a year,   the rules states that you need to a day 
before making a purchase of over $600.  This guideline applies to discretionary 
spending on items you desire but don’t require,   basically, the inner battle in your mind of 
“do I really need this” vs “do I want this”.

The 24-hour cooling-off period gives you time 
to reconsider your purchase. Why not take an   additional day to consider if you actually need 
it? After 24hrs you might not anymore. So next   time you go shopping remember what that 
guy from practical wisdom told you to try. 4. Save for big purchases. Seeing a beautiful $4,000 advertisement 
of a stunning 90-Inch flatscreen,   8K Television – I mean, Imagine the 
things you can see on that TV… Dose   not mean that you should immediately pick up 
your phone and credit card and start dialling   the number on the screen. That’s a really 
bad idea. Remember the rule that rule the   guy from Practical wisdom told you 
about, the 24hr one? Remember that? So, experts suggest that if you really want 
that big TV then it’s best that the money comes   from your savings account which is dedicated 
for such purchases. Not a credit card loan,   unless you have a really good plan to pay 
the money back, which 99% of people don’t. Also, there are countless advantages that 
come with saving for a big or expensive   purchase. You may be able to negotiate 
a cheaper price, or at the very least,   better financing conditions, if you save up 
and pay cash.

The price could drop as well. Additionally, for a larger purchase, 
getting a loan may make more sense,   especially if it's an item with 
appreciating value, like a home,   or if it prevents you from taking money 
out of your savings or investment account. As paying in cash for the big expensive 
TV might leave you with little to spend,   therefore it’s wise to save up for a while 
before you buy the products you need or   desire. Therefore, it’s sensible to start 
saving for that specific thing so that your   daily life is not disrupted.

5. Read books about finance It’s true when they say that 
if you want to hide something,   just put it on paper. The sad truth is that 
– most people never bother to read. You see,   some of the things people choose to ignore, 
such as the information contained in books,   has a good chance of making them 
successful if they bother to read them. Learning is a continuous process, and the more 
you do it, the sharper your skills become. The   ability to make wise financial decisions is 
the chief advantage of financial literacy.

It   gives us the information and abilities we need to 
properly manage our finances, including budgeting,   saving, borrowing, and investing. As a result, 
we are better positioned to meet our financial   objectives and establish financial stability. 
It’s kinda like a super power, and it really   puts you in a comfortable situation knowing that 
you are in control of your financial destiny. 6. Lower your monthly bill. Cutting your monthly spending is one of the 
simplest ways to gain control of your money.   While you might not be able to cut back on 
certain permanent costs, like rent or vehicle   payments without making significant lifestyle 
changes, you can cut back on variable costs,   like clothes or entertainment by being adaptable 
and thinking sparingly. To begin saving on   things like your energy bills, you may, for 
instance, use less power, pick a different   life or home insurance company, or shop for 
your groceries at bulk discounts. Additionally,   you shouldn't accept a loan just because your 
salary and credit make you eligible for one. Many people believe that the bank will 
not give them a credit card or a loan   that they cannot afford. But the bank is 
only aware of the income you have disclosed,   and the debts shown on your credit report; 
the bank is unaware of any other commitments   that would make it difficult for you to make 
timely payments.

Based on your income and other   monthly responsibilities, you must therefore 
determine if a monthly payment works for you. 7. Eat at home. Meals prepared and consumed at home may be quite 
cost-effective. All you have to do is reduce your   reliance on takeout. The odd indulgence at a fancy 
restaurant is OK, but starting to cook at home   or carrying packed lunches to work rather than 
dining out every day might save you money.

Making   a weekly food plan may make it simple. Plan your 
meals for the coming week and then stick to them.   Even for those who don't consider themselves to be 
cooks, the internet provides a seemingly limitless   array of culinary and recipe advice. Begin by 
making at least one meal a week at home. Bring   your lunches to work starting next week. You might 
be amazed by how much money you can actually save! 8. Pay off your debt. Carrying a lot of debt, especially on 
high-interest credit cards, is one of   the costliest mistakes you can make. If you want 
to improve your financial situation and open up   new financial opportunities, pay off your debt as 
soon as possible. If you’re the forgetful type,   you should list off all your existing debts, 
including credit card debt, student loan debt,   and vehicle loans, and determine the minimum 
payments you must make to stay on top of each   of them.

Making minimum payments will not get you 
out of debt quickly, so consider your fixed costs   and how much of your discretionary spending 
budget you can set aside for debt repayment. Additionally, you can try to lower the interest 
rate on the debt by requesting a lower rate from   the issuer, merging several loans into one, 
or moving high-interest debt to a low-interest   credit card, such as a balance-transfer card, 
to lower the overall interest rate. Afterward,   create a debt repayment strategy and develop 
responsible spending practices to pay off the   debt as rapidly as possible.

Your monthly 
budget will be larger the faster you pay   off your debt. As I previously said, paying 
off credit card debt must be a top priority.   Unlike your automobile or house payment, it 
increases with time and is hard to cut back on. 9. Stop using credit cards. Credit cards are a great and handy tool to have,   they are a life saver when needed and they do a 
great job getting that credit score up. However,   for some people there lack of self-control 
and an easy and available remedy to their   problems in the form of a credit card means 
that they quick dig themselves into disaster. You could be depending too much on your 
credit cards if you are having trouble   making ends meet each month. If you continue 
using your credit cards as a crutch to get by,   you'll soon find yourself in debt. Your ability 
to pay your expenses, save for retirement,   or pursue other financial objectives 
will be constrained as a result of this. So stop using your credit cards if you genuinely 
want to take charge of your money. To prevent   accumulating more debt, in addition to creating 
a budget so that you don't have to use credit,   try switching to cash or debit cards; 
opening a short-term savings account and   using funds from it for major purchases; 
or leaving your credit card at home.   Credit cards have high-interest rates that may 
quickly accumulate debt if not used wisely,   and can cause significant stress 
in the event of an emergency.

Because they feel like their money 
disappears too quickly each month,   many people develop the bad habit of depending on 
their credit cards. They are tapped out and rely   on their credit cards to get them through till 
payday after paying bills, food, rent or mortgage,   and other expenses. Instead of relying only 
on your credit cards to cover expenses,   stop using them altogether. Until you develop the 
wisdom and maturity to handle such an instrument. 10. Continue to spend quickly. A "spending fast" can be just what your personal 
finances need if you suffer from credit card debt,   difficulties paying payments on time 
or other financial problems.

Basically,   going on a “spending fast” simply 
means that you’re refraining from   making any discretionary purchases 
for a predetermined length of time. This is another great way to help you reduce 
your spending and get your finances in order.   It may sound a bit daunting, but it doesn’t 
necessarily have to be. You may be familiar   with the well-known (and sometimes contentious) 
"detox" or "cleansing" fasts for your body,   such as giving up sugar or gluten for 30 days 
or even surviving solely on fruit or vegetable   juices for a few weeks. But did you know 
that in order to achieve financial wellness,   you may use comparable fasting or cleansing 
procedures to your spending and saving behaviours? These are frequently month-long periods 
during which spending is restricted and   only categories like food, transportation, and 
recurring expenditures are exempted. If you're   ready to live simply for a while, commit to 
this challenge to boost your bank account,   alter your behaviour, and determine what 
you need rather than just what you desire.   Your perspective on money can even 
change as a result of the event. It’s my hope that this has been helpful 
to you.

Now you can always be one step   ahead of your finances by just following 
the steps from this video. Consider the   possibility that you have never had a 
financial problem. That simply means   more money for you. If you have any questions, 
don’t hesitate to leave a comment down below. With that said, thank you 
all so much for watching,   have a great day, and I’ll 
see you in the next one.

As found on YouTube

https://youtube.com/watch?v=vl2sasYSY4E

Clipping coupons and scoring flights with
credit card miles can save a few bucks here and there, but achieving long-term financial
stability requires a much more holistic approach. Let's look at six big personal finance topics
budgeting, saving, debt, taxes, insurance, and retirement and discuss a helpful principle
for each. Number one: When budgeting, consider focusing
on the big-ticket items. You may have heard you'd be a millionaire
if you'd just skip your morning latte, but it's likely that you can save more by cutting
costs on the expensive stuff like housing and transportation. According to Kelley Blue Book, in 2019, the
average new car cost about $37,000. But buying the same car pre-owned could save
more than $10,000 much more than a year's worth of lattes. Number two: When setting savings goals, be
specific about your plan to get there. It's easy to say, I'm going to save $6,000
for retirement this year, but you also need to define your tactics for pursuing your goal.

Subgoals can help guide your savings strategy:
if you want to save $6,000 this year, think about how you might save $500 this month by
increasing your income or trimming your expenses by about $115 a week. These mile markers can help you assess how
realistic your goal is and help you monitor your progress. Number three: Avoid high-interest debt and
loans for items that could quickly lose value. You might have heard to avoid debt at all
costs, but not all debt is created equal. One type of debt to avoid is debt with an
interest rate higher than 5%, like credit card debt carried from month to month. Also, try to avoid going into debt for anything
that is likely to quickly loses value, like boats, RVs, jewelry, and other luxury goods. But there are times borrowing money makes
sense. For example, loans for education or starting
a business are often considered healthy debt because they may lead to more income down
the road. For some, a low-interest mortgage might be
a good use of debt, because a house has the potential to appreciate.

And even using a credit card as long as you
pay the balance in full every month can help improve your credit score by showing lenders
you can responsibly manage debt. But healthy debt only helps your credit score
if you make your payments on time, so if you're looking to increase your credit score, only
borrow money you're confident you'll be able to pay back.

Number four: Reduce your taxable income. This doesn't mean make less money this
means find ways to pay less taxes on the money you make. One way to do this is to receive income in
a tax-exempt form, meaning get compensated in a way that isn't taxable. For example, many employers offer benefits
that allow you to receive or set aside untaxed money for things like retirement, health care,
education, transportation, and child care.

A second way to potentially reduce your taxes
is to defer them meaning pay your taxes later by contributing to a traditional IRA or 401(k). With these types of retirement accounts, you
don't have to pay taxes until you withdraw your money during retirement, when your tax
rate may be lower. Number five: Avoid insurance for expenses
you can afford to pay for out of pocket. Depending on your personal situation, you
may need car insurance, home or renter's insurance, or life insurance. And everyone needs health insurance. Studies suggest that more than 60% of all
bankruptcies are related to medical issues, so strive to have at least minimum coverage. But remember that the purpose of insurance
is to protect you in unfortunate scenarios. In exchange for protection, you make regular
payments to an insurance company called premiums. Premiums are guaranteed and often ongoing
expenses. For smaller valuables, like electronic devices,
you may want to skip insurance if you can afford to replace them, because paying for
coverage you might never use can be a waste of money.

And finally, number six: Don't just save
for retirement invest for retirement. Realistically, just saving isn't likely
going to be enough to reach your retirement goals. Investing can help grow your money over time. As you can see, if you invested $1,000 in
stocks in 1975, by the end of 2018, your investment would've been worth over $130,000. How can $1,000 grow so fast? Over time, compound interest, which means
earning interest on interest, can help investors experience exponential growth, or growth that
occurs at an increasingly rapid rate. Contributing to retirement accounts like 401(k)s
and IRAs can potentially help you save on taxes and allow your investments to compound
even faster. So remember:
When budgeting, consider focusing on the big-ticket items. When setting savings goals, be specific about
your plan to help you get there. Avoid high-interest debt and loans for items
that will quickly lose value. Consider taking steps to help reduce your
taxable income. Avoid insurance for expenses you can pay for
out of pocket.

And finally, consider investing for retirement. While there's no shortage of personal finance
advice out there, cutting through the noise to focus on high-impact adjustments can potentially
have an enduring effect on your financial future..

As found on YouTube

(upbeat music) – Hi, Peter Boolkah here, and welcome to today's edition of the Transition Guy. Now, today, I want to talk
to you about paying off debt, and that is a topic that
seems to be coming up time and time again, and I have
a lot of people reaching out to me and saying, well,
I'm so badly in debt. I don't know what to do. So I put together a five stage
plan on how you can get rid of debt, and really, it
starts at number one. You see, debt is all about
your relationship with money. It is your mindset about
money, and the question you gotta ask yourself
from a mindset perspective, do you have a saver's
mindset or a spender mindset? And they're two really
different ways of thinking. Savers are people that
will think about, okay, I'm gonna put this away, that away.

They're very much cautious people. They're saving for tomorrow at
the expense of some of today, whereas spenders, they're
quite happy to say, well, I want to go on holiday. I don't have the money, yet I'll put it on the credit card and
think about it later. Yeah, saver mindset is
thinking about later at the expense of today, and
a spender mindset is thinking about today at the expense of the future, and you gotta work out which one are you? Because that will determine
how you handle things, and really, in order
for you to reduce debt, if you've got the spender
mindset, you need to shift that. You need to get some help
into creating a saver mindset, otherwise your old
habits may be the habits that have actually got you
in trouble in the first place and if you continue
having those same habits and that same relationship with money, you're gonna go through the vicious circle and always end up where you've been.

Number two, discipline. In order to get rid of debt, you have to be massively disciplined. Are you an impulsive person
or a measured person? The impulsive person is that
person that sees something and they want to have it,
they'll go and buy it. They won't think about whether
they can afford it or not, they go out there and they get it, whereas the measured person,
they're gonna be thinking, okay, I want it, how am I gonna get it? Or more importantly, can I afford it and how can I afford it? Now, I know that there's
gonna be some people out there that are in the poverty trap
and they're constantly trying to find money and they
can't seem to get out of it, but I'll give you some tactics
on that a little bit later. Number three, value set. Are you exchanging time for money? So a lot of people say,
yeah, but it's okay, I've got a job, so what
am I supposed to do? I get paid this much an
hour, I get this much a week, and that's what I have to live off.

No, it's not what you have to live off, it's what you choose to live off. Yes, you may have to
live off of that for now, but the question's gonna be do you have to live off that forever? No, but that requires change on your side. How do you go from
exchanging time for money to exchanging value for money? So one of the things was I
used to work for McDonald's, and I started off on
something really pitiful.

I think it was £1.30
an hour, and back then, they had different wage brackets
for different age groups. You could've done the same
job, but if you're under 18, you got massively paid less. Well, for two years, I could
either bitch and moan about, well, that's my end and
I'm gonna have to just work on the really bare minimum
wage or I could do something about it, and in McDonald's,
you had the opportunity of the more you learn, the more you earn. So the better you became,
the more useful you became, whether you learnt all
the different stations, then each time you sort
of become more trained, you got a pay raise. Okay, and at the time, it
may have only been five pence an hour, but by the time
you did all the modules, that ended up being quite
a lot of money per hour, and then when you said,
well, every time you sort of took the decision, I want
to step up, I want to sort of learn, and I want to sort of move up in the organization, take on
additional responsibilities, that also came with money.

So that is the whole
exchanging your value. It's saying, okay, do you know what? I'm gonna make myself more
valuable to the organization because if I do that, then
I can earn more money, and the interesting thing is, yes, McDonald's provided training, et cetera, and they did all of
that and that was great. I did a lot of the
education on my own time, and that was interesting. As a 16-year-old, I took
stuff home and learnt it because the quicker I
took this stuff on board, the quicker I would move up.

Number four, it's all about budgets. Are you actually budgeting your life? Now, I run very strict personal budgets. I know what's coming in,
I know what's going out. I know what my affordability is. Okay, as a 16, 17-year-old,
I didn't know that, and a lot of the bad habits,
I mean, I got into debt as a youngster because I
never had the disciplines or the mindset of paying off debt. I just accumulated debt. Probably one of the biggest
challenges I had was that I got a credit card quite
young, and that relationship with that credit card was interesting.

I seemed to be spending,
spending, spending, and then the debt would
rise, would rise, would rise, and before you know it, it
can be quite out of control and can be quite daunting,
to say the least. So you need to budget, you need
to understand your numbers. You need to be brutally honest, where do you stand with that right now? What are the brutal facts? And more importantly, then
what are you gonna do? If you got higher credit
card debts, then you pay off the credit card with the
highest interest rate first. You look at doing a balance transfer if you can get access to 0% credit cards. You do those little things
to start shifting it. You start looking at your utilities. Can I move my utilities over? One of my favorite, it wasn't at the time, but one of my favorite exercises is on your mortgage statement,
look at your annual mortgage statement and
look at how much interest you are paying per year
for where you live.

Then think about it and say,
well, over the entire life span of a mortgage, how much interest
are you gonna be paying? And then start thinking if
you had a saver mindset, and I don't mean saving money in the bank, but if you had the saver
mindset where you started to pay off a little bit
overpayments on your mortgage, how much interest do you think would save over a period of time? Do the exercise. It's frightening, and
finally, I know that a lot of you have got a job,
you're working hard, and you perhaps say, well,
I've got nothing else. I can't do anything else. I'm just at my max.

I want you start thinking, what does your side hustle look like? How can you earn money
for yourself on the side? And I don't mean going and getting a third or fourth job for somebody else. What do you need to learn
so that you can add value to yourself so that you can
start earning for yourself? We're in a beautiful age
where we can do side hustles.

You just need to work
out what your gift is, what your side hustle can be,
and how you can earn more. Now, we can go into far
more detail on this. We don't really have the
time in this episode, but if you want any
more information around how you can start paying off your debt, how you can start adding
more value to your skillset so you can earn more because
you're adding more value to organizations and you
work around your mindset, head over to boolkah.com and get in touch, and if you loved today's
episode, please like it, subscribe, and share it so
that others can benefit also, and finally, always remember that failing to learn is learning to
fail and please stay safe.

(calm music).