Budgeting Tips: How to Live Within Your Means When it comes to budgeting and making the most out of one’s money, some people just seem to do it better than others. How is it that some of us are better at budgeting with our money and living within our means than the rest? For the most part, the “secret” to effective budgeting is merely having a frugal mind-set. Living within your means and making the most out of whatever money you have, boils down to having the right attitude towards spending money, as well as exhibiting good budgeting skills. Don’t debt it unless you have to. It’s fairly well known that in South Africa, there’s a general lack of a culture of saving money. Taking on credit on a small scale might not seem like a major financial responsibility, but these small amounts of credit quickly add up and have the potential to spiral out of control. This is how many consumers in need of debt counselling find themselves in the unfortunate situation where their debt repayments are more than half of their income. To prevent this from happening to you, make sure you do not take on any debt unless you absolutely have to. Remember that in order to live a fulfilled, happy and well-rounded life, you don’t need to be driving the best new car or be wearing the latest fashion trends. Avoid the micro loan. South Africans are quite fond of taking out micro loans. While these lines of credit might not seem like the biggest threat to your financial security, every loan repayment means less money for you to put towards your living expenses and/or savings. Save. Save. Save. One of the most fundamental and important budgeting tactics is to have a savings or emergency fund. This will help provide a safety net whenever you run into unexpected financial troubles or emergencies. If you don’t have a savings fund, you might need to take out a quick cash loan (with high interest) to deal with any unforeseen financial burdens. It’s also been shown that those who are used to saving service their debt more effectively when they do take out loans. Budgeting for the whole family. When it comes to families, the term budgeting takes on a whole new meaning. Having dependants to support financially requires a lot more effort and to be effective, budgeting for a family requires teamwork. Parents need to set boundaries for their children and from an early age teach them about budgeting and saving. Having a spouse or partner means that both of you must be prepared to stick to a budget and agree on how you will best spend the money you both make. It’s important to ensure that your priorities (financial and otherwise) are in line with each other and that you work together, as a team towards a common goal. Don’t let your lifestyle dictate your quality of life. There’s no doubt that we are living in a materialistic, consumer culture where the things you have are often considered to be more important than having a financial safety net or saving for your children’s futures or your own retirement. Spoiling yourself (or your loved ones) every now and then is perfectly fine, but if you try buy your happiness by accumulating stuff, you’ll find yourself unfulfilled and potentially drowning in debt. Those budgeting pros mentioned at the beginning of this article know that their quality of life depends on much more than on the things that they own. 26/07/2013 • budgeting • by DebtSafe
Posted on: Thu, 01 Aug 2013 09:06:27 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015