We spend most of our time looking for short term solutions or quick fixes, but this isn’t the way that the world works. If you are looking to make changes to your life, it is important that you take the time and effort to make long term changes that will have a full impact on your life. You may feel as though you need to act quickly to improve your finances, which is the case, but you should never act rashly. If you are looking to improve your finances, it is vital that you take a long term approach.
As with many issues or problems in life, recognising you have a problem and actually doing something about it is the first step to making progress. If you are continually struggling with money, if you are poor for the final week before payday or you have debt that you can never downsize or get rid of, it is vital that you understand this is a big problem in life. A lot of the most important issues or problems people have in their life relates to money.
Money worries can impact on your behaviour
Money worries get you down and they impact on your behaviour. If you are stressed or concerned about money, it is likely that you will not be fully focused on other matters. This can impact on your work and it may have a negative impact on any relationship that you may have. It is not an exaggeration to say that many people have suffered in life because of money problems, and this is why you need to take control of your finances.
Once you have acknowledged that you have a problem, it is crucial that you draw up a budget. This often makes for uneasy reading but if you want to make changes, you need to know how much debt you have, how much money you have coming in and how much money you pay out every day, week or month. A lot of people are surprised at how much money they spend every month and how little they have to show for it.
It is easier to spend money these days
You need to remember that society has changed and it has become easier to spend money, certainly easier than it was for previous generations. It used to be that you would have to hand over cash or sign a cheque to spend money but nowadays, it is possible to swipe a card and have money leave your account. There is also online shopping that can see you spend a lot of money without getting off of your sofa or out of your bed. It is very easy to spend money in a blink of an eye and this is a major reason why so many people find that their debt is spiralling out of control.
This is why you need to be honest with yourself when it comes to finances and how much you actually spend. Putting all of these figures down into black and white can be painful but this will provide you with the platform to move forward. Once you know what you spend your money on, you will hopefully see areas where you can make savings.
Some ways you can make savings include:
- Can you walk instead of taking public transport or take public transport instead of taking a taxi?
- Is it possible to cut out luxuries for a while?
- Can you do more home cooking and rely less on takeaways or eating out?
- Are there ways you can entertain yourself?
It may seem as though you need to make sacrifices and deprive yourself of certain things when you look to make changes to your finances, but this is all about improving your long term future. When you make changes in the short term, and stick to them, you have a genuine chance of getting out of debt in the long term.
There is a great deal to be said for looking at all of your options and weighing up what is right for you. Some people need to be strict with their spending whereas other people may benefit from a guarantor loan to allow them to take control of their short term issues.
Make sure you focus on what you need and then make the changes that you need to make.
Andrew Reilly is a freelance writer with a focus on news stories and consumer interest articles. He has been writing professionally for 9 years but has been writing for as long as he can care to remember. When Andrew isn’t sat behind a laptop or researching a story, he will be found watching a gig or a game of football.
