Time to take control of your financial future
If you don’t take control of your finances – who will?
Money is a like a baby, it needs looking after and nurturing and feeding. It needs to be set boundaries. It needs to be told what to do and where to go.
You cannot neglect it.
You cannot just ignore it.
You must be a responsible adult and take control.
I think it can be quite daunting to take charge of your own money, especially seeing as we were never taught in school how to handle money, anything about savings or ISA’s or tax or mortgages or budgeting (let’s not get started on this, because it angers me but that is a topic for another blog).
Some people are lucky and have parents or family members or teachers that helped them understand all the adult stuff.
But some people are not so privileged and did not have immediate access to that knowledge.
And if you are one of those people, then there is no use in complaining. You just need to step up to the mark and teach yourself.
One good thing is that looking after your own money does not need to be complicated.
If you have never set up a savings account or have never budgeted your money… don’t run before you can walk. Don’t start researching into investment funds and learning about compound interest.
First you need to figure out your financial goals:
Do you want to invest money into yourself this year e.g. self-education?
Do you want to save money this year?
Do you want to save to go travelling or save for your first home?
Do you have debt and you want to get it cleared?
Are you in an overdraft that you are struggling to get out of?
Once you are clear on your goals…
Secondly make a start and take baby steps:
Work out how much money you want to invest in yourself, how much is that course, how much are those books?
Do some research. have a meeting with your bank, open up a savings account on your bank account app
Make a list of all your debts, list all of your credit cards or loans and and how much is left to pay off on each
Make a simple budget spreadsheet to track your finances or download one from an online free source
These are all little steps that you can start with. Put aside an hour of your day dedicated to your baby steps. Take it day by day.
If you haven’t already, make a simple budget: Write down how much money you have coming in (income). Write down how much money you have going out (bills and other fixed expenses). See how much money you have left over and set yourself realistic budgets and stick to them. Try it for a month then re-assess and repeat.
When it comes to finances; start small and then work your way up.
You know that phrase; Babies don’t just come out of the womb and get straight onto the running track. (I think that is how it goes?)
They learn to crawl first.
Happy adulting
Laura xx
