Where does the money go?
Well with the end of another month I have to sit and sort out my finances. I haven’t looked at them for a few months now so I really don’t have 100% handle on them. My budget is a little outdated with the petrol price increases South Africa has been receiving, so that needs updating. Financial stuff really bugs me sometimes, I can really get confused but I have been told that I don’t approach finances like a normal person. The guy that was analysing my finances at the time told me that I manage them very well and have a handle on what I am doing. Now if I can only keep that up because I have obviously slacked over the last couple of months.
Some thoughts on managing your financial situation
With prices increasing all the time, saving money can be harder and harder to do. Here are some solutions for saving a little so that you can still meet your needs and still find ways to trim off a little for the future.
1. BUDGET – Get one and stick with it! And set aside at least a small portion for savings while you’re at it; savings for your future, your retirement, your education, your annual holiday, whatever. Head to your local office supply store for planning workbooks or budget sheets to use. Or head to your favorite search engine and type in, “budget planning” for hundreds of sites with articles, free downloads, tips, ebooks and other resources to help with your budget setup and follow up. I use a simple spreadsheet, very easy but unfortunately does not keep itself up to date 
2. PLAN AHEAD – Make sure to plan for emergencies and the unexpected, like an appliance break down or garage door malfunction. Even if you can only set aside R250 or so each monthly, place it in an account and earmark it for this “Miscellaneous” fund. Then when things go wrong, and they will – nothing’s perfect – you’ll be better prepared. You can also put this money in your bond. This way you will save a huge amount on interest. Be carefull though as most bonds which allow you to access funds, applies some of those funds to your bond permanently to make up for the interest the bank loses out on
3. NON-MONTHLY ITEMS – Work out a monthly payment for items that you don’t pay monthly and set this up in your regular monthly budget. For example, for items like annual home owner or renter insurance, quarterly water bills and automobile insurance payments and annual trash bills, take the amounts and determine what they would be monthly. Then list the items on your budget log and pull these amounts aside, saving them in your account for those purposes. This way, when the bills hit, you won’t be caught off guard and have to scrounge for the payments. When I first started budgetting, I forgot about these things. For a year at least. the second year I was more educated.
What works well, instead of handling multiple savings accounts for each company owed, is to use multiple spreadsheets and one savings account. Create one sheet for each bill. Then simply log the amount you’re setting aside on the sheet and deposit it into your savings account.
So next time you get paid, take three giant steps forward. Grab your spreadsheets, follow your budget and invest in yourself and your future. Get a grip on your money handling.
I am JMR and this is My Little Corner on JMRPub.com
Loading ...
Stumble this BLOG
