Personal finance - three ways to help manage your money

Money management, whether it is via personal money management software or external financial management, is integral to ensure your future security.  But how do you stay on top of your finances.  Simple.  Follow these three tips!

Tip 1: Actively investigate where your money goes: For two weeks write down all of your expenditures and see where the money you are earning goes. You may be surprised at what items add up over time (eg your morning coffee). Once you have this list, you are well equipped to cut back on your incidental spending. But don’t be a War General. You need your little rewards as well.




Tip 2: Discuss and plan your financial activities with your spouse: If you want to budget effectively it is essential that both you and your spouse are on the same page. If you are planning to only spend $50 one week and your partner decides to buy a new television, needless to say you have blown the budget. So every week or so have a casual chat with your spouse about money, and you will both be heading towards the same goal. If it consistently happens that you’ve been eating potatoes and mince for a whole week, and your spouse has just gone out and bought her 8th Gucci handbag, I’d say you need a real heart to heart about priorities!



Tip 3: Always read the contract: While some people argue there is no point as contracts are hard to change, we have always found it is worth the time to read it. If you are feeling pressured by a sales person, just say "can you delete paragraph five…if you can't delete it I will have to check with my lawyer". No company in their right mind will delete a whole paragraph of a contract, but it will at least make them check it and buy you more time!

So there you have it, three tips to stay in control of your finances. If you want to learn how to save $1000s a year then check out our 1011 money saving tips e-book. Click here!



In other news...

Our three children started school this week.  They are at a British School here in the Middle East.  It was a big day for our four year old daughter A, as it was here first day of school ever!  Our old kids are wrapped to be back at school too.  Especially since they can access Roald Dahl books from the Library.  This may not seem like a big issue, but we have been struggling for the past six months to try and find some of his books here and to get some sent over.  The ones we have had sent over went missing in the post...anyway we are enjoying reading through The Witches and James and the Giant Peach with the kids. 



Cheers



Rusty O'Connor