How to Ensure Your Household Accounts Always Balance – Focus Mag (original) (raw)
It is wise to do everything we can to make sure that our household accounts balance. This will mean that we can be sure that we will be able to pay for everything that we need and we will not risk going into debt as a result. Therefore, it is a good idea to make sure that you have some plans in place to ensure that you are in control of your finances.
Keep Records
It can be a good idea to keep records of the money that you have coming in and out so that you can make sure that you have enough to cover the bills. You might want to write this down or keep a spreadsheet record, but you could just check your accounts. However, keeping a note can be better, at least for a while as you will be much more aware of what is going on. If you note down every time you spend money and how much it is and what for, this will help you start to see where your money is going and you might even start to think about whether you want to buy all of the items that you are buying. You will be able to see where your money is going and you may be surprised at the cost of some of the things that you buy and you might want to change the way that you spend money.
Keep Checking Accounts
It is wise to make sure that you keep checking your account balance. Do this around once a week and then you will be able to make sure that you know what money you have left. It can perhaps get more necessary to do this as you get closer to pay day to make sure that you do not spend more money that you have and you can delay buying some things until you do get paid and have enough money to do so. It is always good to keep a small balance in your current account to make sure that you do not go overdrawn as this will cost you money. It can also be good to stay very aware of when different payments have to be made and ensure you have enough money for those. Perhaps try to change them so they come out just after you are paid, when you know that you will have enough money to pay for them. Most providers, insurers etc, will be happy to help you with this.
Buy Necessities First
It is a good idea to make sure that you buy everything you need when you first get paid. Prioritise spending so that you buy things you need, pay bills and make loan repayments before you buy anything else. This will enable you to make sure that you have enough money for those things and then you will be able to buy things that are not so necessary. It can be wise to make sure that you keep some money back in case you have forgotten something and need to buy it. You can always spend that money later in the month or keep it by for emergencies. It can feel difficult, as you might be used to treating yourself to a few things when you first get paid. However, if we have to wait for things, they can be even better when we do get them or we may change our mind and find something we would prefer instead, if we wait and think about it more.
Plan for Big Spends
It is possible to plan for some big spends and make sure that you hold money back so that you have enough. For example, you may need to save up for buying Christmas gifts, for a wedding you might be going to or a holiday. These will be large expenses that it will not be easy to pay for and so you might need to make sure that you are putting away some extra money each month so that you have enough to pay for this. Even if you only put in a little bit of money, it will all help so that when it comes to the time that you need to spend the money, it will be easier for you to manage. It could be even better to find out how much it will cost you, divide it by the number of months you have before that event and divide the amount by the number of months and save that much each month, so you can spread the cost evenly through the different months.
Keep Some Savings as a Backup
It is a good idea to have quite a significant amount of money put away just in case of emergency. This is because you never know when you might need to buy something that you do not have enough money for. If you need to replace a white good that breaks down, for example, it could be difficult to find the money quickly and so having some money in a savings account means that you will be able to use that. You should be able to then pay the money back into the account over time, by spending a bit less than you earn. It can even be worth prioritising paying some money into a savings account each month and then you will be able to ensure that you build up your savings and will always have some money to fall back on in an emergency. It can be hard to know how much money to keep by, but consider what you might have to buy and also how you might cope if you were out of work or something like that and that should help you to more easily come up with a figure.