How heavenly would it seem if all our bills were paid on time and loans and money borrowing went out of the equation? Sounds ideal, yet of course hypothetical, at the same time. Financial troubles often come with ringing warning bells. Spotting them early with a proactive approach will always minimize repercussions later.
Lack of a planned budget: Ask yourself, have you ever ordered food in a fancy restaurant without looking at the menu? “No, never, why would I?” must be your top answer.
This is exactly why you need to plan a monthly budget wisely. Budgets are like gate keepers; they keep hold of your spending and navigate your financials accordingly. It is a way of seeing forward by staying in the present. It is wise to plan in advance so you have a better idea of how much you need to spend and how much to save up. Start by making a priority list. Identify the regular and irregular, or emergency expenses. That way, eventually, you will be able to eliminate financial worries later on.
Relying on Pay day Loans: A financial nightmare takes root the moment you start relying on pay day loans for your payments.
These short-term loans may help you in your desperate times, but they always come with a major catch. With higher interest rates, these loans will create hurdles for you in the future. Opting for loans from banks or using credit cards, is a much safer way to counter financial needs in the longer run.
Little to no emergency savings: Save for a rainy day! This is the first thing every parent teaches a child when teaching money value. If you listened, good for you; if you didn’t, pity.
You are on the road to financial disaster, if you are out of your emergency savings or worst, you have no savings at all. Emergencies don’t come with signboards. Remember that! One can’t simply ignore the costs for medical or automobile troubles when they come. Borrowing loans will only be a burden with added costs of interests. Saving up for them should be the first priority in life.
Not only that, make sure you are saving up for your retirement too.
Routine expenses via Credit card: Frequent use of credit card for day-to-day expenses is not any ideal way if you want to avoid financial bumps. It will ultimately result in higher interest rates which you obviously must be aware of, causing you to fall behind on money for the future when you need it.
Making Minimum Payments: It may seem at times that paying minimum payments is no payments at all. But don’t stop. Making small payments will save you from collection companies suffocating you with phones calls and bankrupting you. Don’t rely on what the bill statement says; try to pay as much as you can, when you can.
The bottom line
If reading this article made you think harder about your financial situation, then surely you need to start making wiser choices. It would be advisable to sit down and start visualizing your options to cut down on the unnecessary baggage and save more money.