The last few years have been tough for everyone financially. We’ve seen the pandemic take its toll on the money markets, soaring inflation, and hikes in fuel prices – it’s all made family life trickier than usual because it has been increasingly hard to plan for anything because it’s so hard to predict what things are going to cost!
If, like me, you hate any kind of uncertainty around money and would rather just know exactly where you stand every month, then I’ve got a few tips that might help you take a little bit of the stress out of financial planning and budgeting.
Use more cash
This one might feel a bit counterintuitive in the digital age that we live in, but using cash can actually be really useful. Not only is it super easy to keep track of, but using cash makes you a lot more mindful about how you spend money as it really makes you think before you hand it over.
If you want to experiment initially, try using cash for just one item of expenditure such as your grocery shopping or your monthly allowance for treats. Set your budget at the beginning of the month, take out that amount of cash and that’s it – spend it wisely!
Get a guaranteed price for your house
Selling your home is usually one area where you have very little control, but using a service like Sold can be helpful here. Sold is an online estate agent with a difference. You can either opt for them to sell your house for you in the normal way, or there’s the option for them to buy your home from you directly using their own funds.
This way you get a guaranteed sale and the cash in our bank quickly – ideal if you’re in a hurry or need to be certain of a sale.
Review your subscriptions
Most of us have at least one monthly subscription that we’ve signed up to and forgotten about, but these payments can then creep up on us and come out of our banks when we’re not expecting them. Take an hour or two to review all of your online payments and cancel any you don’t need, including subscriptions set up through your phone for apps or storage services.
You may be surprised by how much money you save with this one – even if you cancel just one $10 per month subscription that’s $120 a year, which you could be spending on something much more fun!
Set up mini savings pots
If you don’t want to be surprised by expenses like car repairs, school uniforms, or Christmas then set up savings pots for each thing and pay in small but regular amounts instead. This way when the annual car service comes around you’ll already have the money set aside and it won’t come as a shock when you get the bill.
I hope these few ideas have given you some inspiration to get your finances in order and help eliminate a little of the uncertainty.
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