This Blog Post Will Persuade You To Improve Your Financial Management

We’re all busy- and being so busy has an impact on our personal finances.

We know that it’s a good idea to stay on top of our finances, but few of us are consistently trying to do that. It requires a lot of time and effort on your part, and it’s easy to forget about our finances, given other issues in our lives. However, consistently reviewing your financial situation will help you make course corrections and get better financial results.

Here are some actionable tips to improve your personal finances:

Paying Too Much in Fees?

 

If you don’t pay close attention, the amount of fees you’re paying can add up quickly- and take up too much of your monthly income.

It’s important to know exactly what you are paying for when you sign up for a new financial service, such as a loan or a credit card. That means that you need to read all the small print before you sign on the dotted line – you never know what kind of fees could be hidden away in all that text.

Once you do understand all of the different fees, you will get a better idea of whether the service or product is still affordable. If not, you’re better off looking elsewhere for another service or product that won’t sting you with so many fees.

Find more actionable tips about saving and investing here:

Finally, ask the vendor for a discount. A good friend of mine never fails to ask for a discount on any product or service he buys. He figures that, given the amount of competition in every business, he always has another option. Ask for discounts- you’d be surprised how much you can save.

Claiming Compensation

 

Did you know that there are lots of different kinds of compensation and payouts that you could be claiming- but probably aren’t? Improving your financial savvy will help you stay on top of all of this and help you figure out what’s worth trying to claim for.

Get free sample chapters from my book: Not Another Personal Finance Book.

These claims can take many forms. One form is simply taking advantage of coupons, discounts, and rebates whenever possible. Consider joining frequent user programs for restaurants, movie theaters, and other services that you use all the time.

If you are ever in a car accident, you might want to call The Rybak Firm to see about claiming car accident compensation. Other common claims include accidents in the workplace and personal injuries.

Can You Spot Fraud?

Monitoring your finances means that you know exactly how much money is in your bank account. So, if you are ever the victim of theft or fraud, you will spot it a lot quicker. That’s because you will notice any suspicious transactions that appear on your account, and you can raise the alarm quicker to your bank.

Your best defense against fraud is to reconcile your bank accounts within a day or two of getting your bank statement- preferably by accessing your online bank statement right after month end. By doing this, you can pick up on debits to your account that were not authorized. Review your credit card statement quickly, for the same reasons.

It’s always best to try and act as quickly as possible when it comes to fraud and online theft as that will give you the best chance of getting your money back.

How to Pay Off Debt Faster

Smart financial decisions can help you pay off your debt faster, and that will help you increase your saving habits, allowing you to find more money to put towards all of your debt.

Pay off the debt with the highest interest rate first, because that approach will reduce total amount of interest you’ll pay. You also might want to consolidate all of your loans into one monthly payment. It simplifies your life, and makes repayments easier.

As you can see, these are some really good reasons why you should try to improve your financial management. Use these tips to improve your personal finances and gain peace of mind.

This post is for educational purposes only.

Ken Boyd

Author: Cost Accounting for Dummies, Accounting All-In-One for Dummies, The CPA Exam for Dummies and 1,001 Accounting Questions for Dummies

Co-Founder: accountinged.com

(email) ken@stltest.net

(website and blog) https://www.accountingaccidentally.com/

(you tube channel) kenboydstl

 

Image: Bullseye, Jeff Turner CC by 2.0