Rainy Days and Big Buys: Using Your Financial Personality to Help You Finally Save Money
Making a large purchase which might be something like a big ticket item in the form of a new car or a dream holiday, could leave a big hole in your finances unless you plan properly for the expenditure.
The key to making those large purchases seem less painful on your wallet is to get into some good money habits and then reap the rewards when you find you are a much better placed to make that big buy without breaking into a sweat.
Here are some budgeting tips and insights that can help show you the way to managing your money more efficiently and save more each month towards those big ticket items. There is an overview of how to keep a close eye on your monthly expenses, plus details of a few strategies to help you cope more easily when the time comes to splash some serious cash.
Making the most of your money
If you have a steady income that doesn’t fluctuate that much from one year to the next this gives you an element of financial stability and it also means that you have a clearly defined sum of money to work with after you get each paycheck.
You, therefore, need to get the maximum value out of the amount that you have available each month.
There are two ways to do this in particular. Firstly you should keep a track of all of your monthly expenses and constantly look for opportunities to make savings and cut out waste. Make a note of everything you spend, including small daily expenses that might seem insignificant but quickly add up, so that you can identify where savings and cutbacks can be made and used towards saving for those larger purchases.
The other thing to do is review your monthly regular payments to see if you can get a cheaper deal elsewhere.
Look at finding mortgage lenders that might be able to offer a lower rate if your current deal is coming to an end and review your cable and internet deals as well as utilities, to check whether you might be able to find a better monthly deal.
Give yourself breathing space
If you plan to take a family holiday in the Summer, for instance, you can make that happen more easily without denting your finances if you set a savings goal well in advance of your target date.
There will be payments you need to make beforehand if you need to take flights or need to reserve the accommodation, but you will also be spending plenty of money when you are actually on vacation.
A week or two of eating out at restaurants every night and all the extra things you do while you are taking a break will put your monthly budget under strain and you might end up resorting to your credit card to pay for everything.
You can avoid that sort of scenario if you set a savings target well in advance based on how much you will think you will need while you are away. It is a great feeling to arrive at the departure date and have a pot of cash saved up to be able to enjoy a great vacation without stressing so much about how you can pay for all the fun you are about to have.
You can apply this discipline to all sorts of different future goals and aspirations and you will be pleasantly surprised how even small sums of money put away regularly, can make all the difference when you are spending big.
Summer Griffiths is a saver rather than a spender. She manages the family finances and can tell you to the dollar where money is getting spent! She shares some of her tips and tricks online in her articles.
