Do you know how much money you really have? Do you have enough savings if the worst should happen? I, like many other Singaporean, had no idea, and it was a costly lesson to learn. Fortunately, I’ve since learned good management techniques. You can use the lessons I’ve learned to get your own personal finances where you want them to be. Use the options below, along with several others to help you get yourself back on track, no matter what mess you are in now. I went from homeless to having a nice apartment in a few years, so I know it is not impossible.
The first thing I looked at was my car. We had two cars, but only one person working outside the home. While one was completely paid off, it was still costing big money to insure a car that was just sitting in the parking lot. Selling the older car dropped our insurance cost significantly, and since we only drive a car with great gas milage, we save at the pump as well. Walking to local destinations, planning trips appropriately, and occasional use of public transportation have more than made up for the lack of a second car.
The next step is to look at food costs. Eating out gets very expensive very quickly. You can find imitation recipes for just about any major restaurant online, so you don’t need to give up your favorite food. Make eating out a special treat rather than a day-to-day choice and you will save hundreds right there. Convenience foods can also be replaced by home brewed coffee, and simple snacks to remove that expense as well.
You can drop your food bill even lower in most cases, by checking out your local ethnic food market. I save 50-75% on my fruit and vegetable purchases by shopping at one of the area asian markets rather than just at the traditional grocery store. I still need to go to Kroger for American and European food, however, as these are more expensive at the Asian places. Aligning this with seasonal purchases and you will be amazed at how little you are spending for a wealth of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Take a look at your monthly bills. Cable in particular, can often be replaced by a good internet connection and a streaming service. While cable plus internet would cost well over $120, I get cable internet and Netflix for just over half that. Combined with free services like Hulu, I get all the TV I can watch. For shows that are not available online, I wait for season DVD’s to come out. With all that money saved on TV, I have quite a collection of shows I can watch anytime commercial free.
Never, ever pay bills late or overdraft your checking account. This is a simple matter of tracking when things are due and how much you have left over. If money is especially tight, skip auto pay and see if you can instead get your due date moved to a few days after payday. This means the first thing you do after getting paid is to make sure all your bills are taken care of. If you are really struggling, don’t be afraid to call the company. If you know you will be late you might be able to avoid extra fees by talking to the company.
Try to put some money aside each month, even if it is a tiny amount. Everyone needs to have a rainy day fund. While $5 a month might not help much, it is still growing. More importantly, it is setting you up with good savings habits. Once you have implemented these money saving ideas you can start putting away more and more. The sooner you start saving, the more interest will have time to work on your money.
There are literally limitless possibilities on how you can get your finances in order- these are just the ones that really helped me. Getting your finances in order is just something that you don’t have to worry about backfiring on you. These skills can be used for the rest of your life. While unpleasant, working on your finances will take a huge weight off of your shoulders.
If all these don’t work, you might want to consider getting a Personal Loan from maybe a bank or a Licensed Moneylender. Getting a Personal loan, is in fact quite a normal issue nowadays. Majority of the masses have in a point of their lives, obtain a loan to sustain the harsh and cruel reality of the modern world. There is nothing wrong with getting a loan, be it a personal loan, payday loan, business loan, house loan or student loan as long as one is able to repay back on time. At the end of the day, it is our management of our life that is the key factor to a better living.