It can be so overwhelming trying to take control of your finances, as it can be difficult to know where to begin. That’s where we come in, with some simple tips that apply to anyone to help them take control of their finances in 2023. From looking to apply for an IVA to automating savings, these are really simple things that you can do and can help you to relieve financial stress.
Be Honest About Your Financial Situation
The first thing you can do, and arguably the best thing, is to be honest with yourself about your financial situation. Sit down and look at all of your bank accounts and loans, then write everything down. The worst thing you can do is to pull the wool over your eyes and be ignorant to the debt that you are in, as it’ll only get worse. So, this is the best opportunity to make sure that you know exactly where you are up to so that you can take action. Make a list of everything, or put it into a spreadsheet, and look at your total debt.
From here, you can look at different options, such as looking to apply for an IVA (or a company voluntary arrangement if you’re in business debt) if you have debt across two or more platforms and you are finding repayments unmanageable, you might have debt on one credit card and set up your own repayment plan to pay it off, you might just need to do a really thorough budget to find out where you can save money and then go from there. All of these things can really help to transform your financial situation, but aren’t possible if you don’t know exactly where you are up to financially. This is such a positive first step and although it might be daunting, it is the most vital step to help you control your finances.
Create A Spending Calendar
Another thing you can do to take control of finances is to create a spending calendar. Print off a blank calendar for the month and then at the end of each day, write down how much you have spent. You should have a daily budget in place to help you keep your spending under control, so if you spend under your budget write the spending in green, if you spend around your budget write it in yellow, and if you’re 10% or more over, write it in red. Some people don’t do much in the week and then their spending increases at the weekend, so in this case, it would be better to have a weekly budget, still write your daily spending down but then make sure that you are sticking to your weekly budget. This might sound trivial, yet it is so important to help you take accountability for your spending.
Automate Your Savings
Last but not least, if you have some money spare to save (this might not be the case if you are paying off debt, as that should be a priority), then you should set up an automatic direct debit where after you get paid, a set amount is taken out of your main account and put into your savings account. If you are the type of person who ends up nipping into their savings throughout the month, then you should get a savings account that you can’t enter easily whenever you want.