As we head fast into the new year, many who resolved to get their finances back on track in 2023 might be losing motivation about now. The key to getting things under control is developing habits. Science tells us that it only takes about 60 days for something to become a habit, so if you use these handy tricks from our expert bookkeeping service in Charleston, you can have everything on track come April with the rest of the year to go!
Separate Your Money into Two Accounts
The best way to not spend money is to have it already spent by sectioning it off. Open up a new account and make it your “monthly bills” account. Next, add up all of your recurring bills and then make a schedule to automatically withdraw that amount to transfer to the second account on your payday. That way, you have the funds ready before you can even touch them. Also, use one credit card to pay all of your bills at the end of the month. Since you are going to pay the entire balance, you don’t have to worry about accruing interest, but you will be racking up rewards points!
Spell Things Out
Analyze and sort your debt according to the due date and the interest rate of the debt. Organize them from first to last and heavily stack your payments according to where you will save the most in interest. Once you have eliminated one, move to the next, and so forth. Not only will it help you save by not paying interest charges needlessly, but by laying it all out, you can feel accomplished every time you get to eliminate one debt and move to the next. That is serious motivation to keep it up!
Don’t React Out of Emotion
The biggest downfall that most of us have in our financial lives is impulse buys. What we know is that most impulse buys lead to buyer’s remorse, but by then, you have already moved on and the money's gone. Before you purchase something that you may or may not need, walk away from it physically and go about your shopping. If you take the time to talk yourself out of it, you most likely will. You just have to wait for the impulse adrenaline to pass. When shopping online, apply the same concept by putting things in your cart and leaving them. They will be there when you are ready to go through with it. Most likely, you will be reminded about them frequently, so you don’t have to worry.
Adjust as Needed
The mistake that we most commonly make is setting a budget and forgetting it. With prices on the increase and all sorts of turmoil, analyzing and adjusting your budget every couple of months is the best way to avoid a situation where you are robbing Peter to pay Paul. When you don’t budget appropriately, you can get off-track quickly.
Do Your Homework
If you have to or are going to make a big purchase, make sure to comparison shop and do your research. If you look around long enough, you will most certainly find a way to save. In addition, you want to pay close attention to those things that will get you every time, like warranty information, return policies, payment options, and product specifications.
Review Annually
It is a good idea to take the time at the end of the year to examine your budget and your habits. If you commit to cutting back and being more on top of what comes in and what goes out, then you are going to see a significant difference in either paying your debts or growing your savings – or hopefully both. It is a great way to find an incentive to continue on your path to good habits for life.
As we head into the new year, many will resolve to change their spending ways and get back on track. Science tells us that it only takes 60 days to commit something to habit. If you start with these bookkeeping services in Charleston tricks now, by the end of the year you will really have something to celebrate – financial freedom! Contact Current Accounting today to get your finances in order.