Quick Fixes to Improve Your Finances

Keeping your personal finance in order is vital to avoid debt and afford certain things like a car or, your home at a lower interest rate. Getting your money in order helps avoid the stress and disarray caused by mounting debt.

The good news is, a financial situation can be improved, mainly through self-discipline. Following are 4 major tips for financial quick fixes that you can try when going gets tough. Not in particular order, all of these need to be taken care off at the same time.

1. Get organized

Paperwork and accounts can be tedious but organizing your finances can make all the difference to your life. Write down all your outgoings and keep a note of when direct debits come out so that you don’t get hit with late payment fees and bank charges.

Write down all your outgoings and keep a note of when direct debits come out so that you don’t get hit with late payment fees and bank charges.

If you pay no attention to your calendar put a reminder on your mobile phone to alert you the day before so you don’t forget.

I suggest my friends use personal capital. I use it as one stop shop for all my financial accounts. With one login I see my income, expenditure, cash flow, and investment performance.

Only if you know where your money is coming and where it’s going, you’ll ever be able to make informed decisions about your money

2. Try and live within your means

It can be tempting to get the car, clothes, holidays and fancy restaurant meals on credit but when most of your paycheck goes to paying for it at the end of the month then it is less appealing.

You don’t have to sit at home twiddling your thumbs every night but just try not to max your credit cards, loans, and other credit facilities.

Just because you have access to credit, it doesn’t mean you need to use it all. Try and save it for use in emergencies or just use it now and again for some purchases.

The less you have to pay out every month, the more cash you will have to spend and save.

3. Pay your bills on time

This might sound obvious but some people find it hard to keep track of when bills are due especially if they have a few.

However, paying your bills on time doesn’t just give you peace of mind and help you avoid red letters and nasty phone calls from your creditors, it also improves your credit score and prevents late payment penalties.

Late payment charges can really add up especially if you get them every month.

Furthermore, people with good credit scores enjoy the benefits of lower interest, better financial products and have creditors queuing up to offer them a choice of deals. It is worth being part of this group especially if you want credit to work for you.

4. If you have debts pay them off

People end up in debt for a range of reasons, redundancy, unexpected expenses, overspending and rising costs are just a few.

However, thankfully it is possible to get out of debt. There are several agencies that help people to set up agreements with their creditors and often payments are much less.

You can yourself do debt recovery without getting external help and thus avoiding fees.

Alternatively, you can contact the people you owe money to directly and explain your circumstances and what you can afford to pay. Making regular payments will keep them off your back and help you to rebuild your credit. Sometimes you will have to fill out

Sometimes you will have to fill out a financial statement so they can look at what you have got coming in and go out and work out what you can afford to pay.

Readers, if you had been in a stressful financial situation, how did you overcome that? What other suggestion you have for a financial quick fix?