5 Top Tips for Being Smarter With Your Wages
When payday arrives a lot of us can be very quick to start spending that hard-earned money, and while there’s nothing wrong with treating yourself, we can often go through the month not really knowing where our money is going.
From bills and clothing to non-essentials like coffee and takeaways, your wages can quickly disappear before you even know what’s happened. To help you manage your wages better and to ensure a more secure future, here are five top tips to being smarter with your wages.
Top tips for being smarter with your wages
1) Keep a Budget Planner
By keeping a close check on all your spending, you will feel much more in control of your finances. It will also undoubtedly shed some light on your spending and highlight where potential cuts could be made. NI Direct have a great guide on budgeting which you can read here.
For more information on planning and budgeting, read our guide to 7 easy ways to save money in 5 minutes.
2) Build a Savings Pot
Putting aside even a small amount of money each month is a great way to ensure you have some savings available should you need them. Set up a separate ISA account with your bank or open a savings account with your bank or local Credit Union so you’re not tempted to dip into any savings. A small amount each month will go a long way, and it always helps if you have something to save for – a house, a car or a holiday.
3) Plan for the Future
Many companies provide a workplace pension plan for staff, and by 2018 it will be compulsory to provide a workplace pension scheme for employees. If you are not already part of a workplace pension, or don’t have your own private pension scheme, then you should consider finding out more information.
Not only will you be paving the way for the future but you will also be safe in the knowledge that some of your wages are being put towards your future. Most employers will pay a proportion of your pension plan so it is really a no brainer.
4) Review Your Outgoings
One of the easiest ways to start saving money is to look at what you are currently spending your money on. Things like your mortgage and car payments and any monthly billings are going to be a regular outgoing from your bank account, but what about those non-essential outgoings; how can you reduce them?
Take a look through your old bank statements and make a note of how much money you are spending (and potentially wasting) on your weekly shopping, clothes, nights out, takeaways, coffee and treats during the working week. Is there anything here you can reduce? By noting down where your disposable income is going, you can soon start to notice big savings on non-essential outgoings.
5) Keep a check on all your bills
Nowadays there are so many different bills to keep ahead of and it can sometimes be easier to ignore bills instead of dealing with them head on. If you shop around for things like insurance, internet, mobile phone billings and utilities, you’ll soon be able to find ways of saving a few pound every month, and this all adds up.
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What are your top Saving Tips?
What are your tips for being smarter with your wages and ensuring your savings are headed in the right direction? Share your top tips with us on Facebook and Twitter using #SmarterLiving, and we’ll share the best ones.
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