Every day is a battle to make ends meet, every bill is a nightmare and every additional zero weighs heavy on the paycheck. Prices skyrocket while the income remains the same. Responsibilities weigh heavy but the rise in salary shows no sign of life. This is the struggle faced by every ordinary household. The fight for survival where we struggle for each penny and pound.
The paycheck comes and the money is gone with the blink of an eye. Have we saved? How have we spent it? Where were we extravagant? These are thoughts we all face on a daily basis. The reason for this being that the value for money has reached rock bottom with the “development” of modern standards of living.
In order to overcome this fight, the most integral part is financial planning which will make our lives easier and help us save and carry on our expenses without a hitch until the end of the month – since most of us are dependent on a monthly pay slip.
Tips for financial planning
The first and foremost thing we need to do to get our expenses and expenditure in order is to BUDGET – because that is the miracle click which can improve finances almost immediately. With a budget we can track our money coming in – income- and going out – expenses-. By doing this we can experience less money stress and we can actually start saving and having money for things we want to do in life.
Secondly, we have to FIND WAYS TO EARN. In order to put an end to money stress, we should have a source of a stable and sufficient income. If we cannot achieve this, then we must be open enough to try out part-time jobs and freelancing; which will help us make money on the side. Think ahead and beyond. Don’t be lazy and laid back. We should earn money when we could so that we could sit back and relax when we should.
Number three on the list is to SET FINANCIAL GOALS. Examples of goals can be to get out of debt, settle the loans taken for studies, save money to get a new car or buy a house. Whatever be the financial goals we have to make sure to sit and write them down in order to motivate ourselves to achieve them and we have to be frugal to an extent in our spending to get out of debt. Its financial goals which will take us from where we are now to where we want to be.
PAY OFF YOUR DEBTS. Create a plan to get out of debt now. We owe that much to our future self so that we don’t burden it with our past. Along with paying off our debts, we have to write the payments and settlements in order to make life easier for us and the other party or parties involved.
Lastly, we have to SAVE FOR THE FUTURE. Money comes and money goes. Youth comes and old age takes its place. In order to be able to sit back and relax and enjoy a breath free of financial burden, we have to be smart enough to save to achieve our goals. There’s no use of crying over spilled milk if all we do now is spend and postpone the plan to save. Yes, it is tempting to spend freely and live life to the fullest without thinking about tomorrow. However, not everything goes the way we want and the way we think. In order to save we have to be smart and in order to be smart we have to be wise enough to make the choice to save.
Money doesn’t grow on trees and the sweat and effort put into obtaining it is endless and unseen. The struggle to earn a single penny is real. The value for money is lost but the expectations are high. So, in order to make expectations a reality, we have to trample our temptations and step into the realm of saving in order to obtain a brighter future.