It is never too late to learn about your finances so we will look at some approaches to managing your money that can help you if you are young or old. So, take a few minutes and read through this article and put into practice the approaches that you find suitable.
When you are faced with an expensive purchase that will also be used by other family members it can be a good idea to approach them for a contribution. This can spread the cost to everyone that will be using the item and take the full burden off your wallet.
Debt can be a problem if it is associated with frivolous purchases. A car or a house is a reasonable purchase to use credit for. Things like the latest phone or a short holiday are items that can rack up quickly and while they may be desirable, they are not necessary.
Scams are always a problem and usually involve a hook like getting something for nothing or making a high profit from a small investment. If something looks too good to be true then it likely is. A good way to double check is to search on the internet with many sites cataloging scams so that other people are warned.
A good way to understand your finances is looking at them in the same way as a financial institution does. This can be done by preparing detailed income and expense sheets so you can note all of your sources of income and everything that you pay for. This then shows you how much you have in surplus that you should be able to save. If you do not have enough income to cover your expenses then you need to reduce some of your expenses.
Look at your bank accounts and what fees and charges they attract and what interest you are paid. Many people have substantial amounts in checking and saving accounts that pay no interest and have fees and charges that are not competitive. Compare different banks and accounts you may be able to have the same convenience with no fees and a small return in interest paid.
If you are looking at investing then do not forget to compare fees. When looking at a transacting make sure you include any fees when buying and selling the investment product. There may be a high headline rate of return that is reduced when you take out the brokerage fees, exit fees and maintenance fees.
A great tip before applying for a mortgage is to check your credit score so that you can attempt to maximize it. A score of 740 or above can allow you to access better interest rates that will save many thousands over the life of the loan. If you have a low credit score then you should look to improve it before applying for a mortgage as it may severely disadvantage your application. A rejected application can make it harder to get a mortgage even with a better credit score.