They say money talks but, when you do not develop good money management habits the money will be forever saying ‘Bye, see you when you see me.’
To avoid this some good money habits to work on right now are
Start a relationship (with your bank)
Now that you have started earning money start working on a financial footprint by building a relationship with your bank. You may think that you do not earn a large enough amount but it is never too early to start. Do not dismiss the customer relations person or the information desk. Start asking questions and getting to know what your bank offers. And if have not yet done so, open a simple saving account to put money away for emergency or a big ticket item and make sure that it is receiving deposits regularly.
Having another account other than your current or salary/business account will show that you are a person that can manage different types of accounts responsibly. When the time comes to ask for a personal loan or negotiate for better terms of deposit the bank will have a financial footprint they can work with. Do not let your financial foot print now be one that shows that you are only interested in living from pay day to pay day.
Learn to manage debts
Earning money means that you are the ideal target for the consumer and credit agency advertisers but you will notice that, no ads focus on the part about paying the money back, nor do they mention how long or hard it is to do or how high the interest added on will be.
Learn to navigate debt and avoid it if you can. For instance if you have rice or beans at home-do not buy more just because it is on credit. Or if you love shopping for the sake of shopping – for its entertainment value – why not go without your wallet?
Learn to avoid piling on debt by doing simple things. Window-shop, admire handbags and shoes, gaze at jewelry, ‘like’ things on social media but NEVER commit to purchase even if you are given 3 months to pay! Give yourself time to think it through and see if you can afford the item or will manage yet another item on credit.
If you do get into debt (which many of us do) start a debt-elimination plan. Simply on a piece of paper make 3 columns. In the first column on the left, write the months, beginning with the upcoming month. At the top of the next column, write the name of the debt you want to pay off first (it may be the highest figure or the earliest pay-off date). In a third column write TICK IF PAID.
Follow the calendar month by month and pay down your balances before you incur more debt!
Pay your bills on time
Paying bills on time can be more important than making more money. Especially if you recognize that you cannot immediately maintain the same spending patterns and life-style as that to which you were accustomed to as part of your parents’ or guardian’s family.
To help you pay bills on time use a budget so you have a predetermined path. A path that will show you how much money will be spent in each category of your budget.
A budget will help you plan and evaluate your expenditures daily, weekly and monthly.
