A lot of people needs help with finances and there is nothing wrong with that. As most people would say, asking for help is sometimes a brave thing to do. The financial experts did not wake up one day knowing everything about personal finance. It took time and effort for them to reach the level of knowledge they have and at times, they also asked for help.
But ordinary consumers do not have to take the path of financial experts just to get some elbow room in their finances. Whether it may be for an impending expense such as medical bills or home repairs Or it can even be preparing the budget for a mortgage loan or for the cost of attendance of higher education.
It is always a good idea to prepare for any big expenses and getting help with your finances should not come in the way of your dreams. If you do not know a certain area of your finances or believe that you will benefit more if you go get help from experts, then go ahead and do so. It should not keep you from reaching your goals.
According to Statisticbrain.com, the average household debt stands at about $117,000 and that is already a prohibitive amount. That average household debt restricts your financial movement to the point that some consumers are just trying to make ends meet and unable to enjoy life. Paying for student loans and the house, car and credit cards alongside living expenses is just too much for their finances to take.
Using technology to assist you with your finances
You need keep your finance healthy for your own sake because mismanaging it can lead to bigger financial problems along the way. Imagine if you are preparing to make a down payment on a mortgage loan. But before you were able to do so, you decided to use up the funds to book a vacation because you were stressed out. This complicates your home buying decisions because you did not think things through.
The good thing is that with the advent of technology, there are a lot of tools you can use to help with finances and make sure that you get to reach your goals. Here are some of the ways technology can give you a helping hand.
- Mobile banking made safer. In today’s time, convenience is a necessity with the fast paced way of life. Everything has to be done quickly and efficiently and mobile devices has been helping people with this for the last few years. More than just using it to call and communicate with other people. Mobile applications has been developed for smartphones to have specific functions and the banking industry has latched on to this trend and put put apps for its customers. And at present, there are mobile banking apps that utilize biometric personal data such as voice and face recognition to add another layer in protecting your data. This keeps your funds safe as you tend to other areas in your budget.
- Digital wallets. Secure transactions is a big help with finances because you get to take away the stress of falling victim to identity theft. This also help you budget better because you do not have to carry actual cash with you. Just as credit cards helps you with cashless transactions, so does a digital wallet. It can conveniently be linked to an account or a credit-based agreement where you spend without the need to carry either cash, credit card or even a checkbook. The nice thing about it is that you can automatically monitor your spending with a touch of a button.
- Automatic transfer. Most people think that automatic debit us just to make payments and there is nothing wrong with using the program for it. In fact, even Discover.com reduces the interest rate of the student loan holders who applies for automatic debit by as mich as 0.25%. But apart from making payments easy, it can also make saving easy because automatically transferring the money from one account to another helps you save with less of an effort. Also, automation programs can be beneficial to retirement because you get to put in contributions even before you spend the money.
- Budgeting and monitoring in real time. Technology helps consumers budget and monitor their finances in real time. This is a big help when trying to make informed financial decisions on the go. You can still use pen and paper but syncing that with your devices and being able to access them across multiple platforms might be challenging. Using apps to put together your budget and using banking apps to monitor our funds can help with finances and making sure you are on track in reaching your goals.
Benefits of healthy financial management
What do you get from making use of technology to get your finances in order? How does it help you go forward with your dreams in life? Here are some of the benefits it brings to you, your household and your budget.
- You get to enjoy life. If you know how much you can use for entertainment, rest and recreation then you will not be worried to go out one night meeting friends because you have a budget for it. Apart from this, you need to have a detailed budget so you can see if you have extra funds you can use for the coming trip.
- You reduce unnecessary stress. Knowing that you are maximizing and using your income to the fullest can leave you feeling accomplished. You can continue with your career knowing that if anything comes up, you have an emergency fund to sustain and keep you out of debt. You also know that you are on track with your retirement contributions. You can get help with finances but you need to apply whatever support you get to make sure you keep your budget and financial life in order.
- You get to retire when you want. Retirement is inevitable and coming to terms with it has a lot to do with how well you prepared for it. A healthy financial management approach needs to include this in the to-do list and it needs to be started early enough to make the compound interest work in your favor. If you start saving for retirement early, you can retire early just as starting late can force you to pick up a few more years at work just so you have enough to get by after leaving the corporate world.
Preparing and managing your finances is a must to keep you from falling into unmanageable debt and technological advancements has helped consumers and even lenders with ways to make that a lot easier. But even in the old days, you must put in a lot of effort, hard work and dedication to reach your financial goals in life.
The best that technology can do is give you help with finances and makes sure that you have the tools that you need to get a good grip on your income and budget and everything that happens in between the two. It is still up to you and the support that technology gives is just an added bonus to make your job a little easier.