30 days, 30 ways to organise your finances
Get organised!
Organisation is critical to getting your finances under control, but for so many, the process of getting buttoned up on the financial front seems overwhelming. Where do I start?
What if I don’t have more than a few minutes a day to spare to dealing with this? The fact is our minds have a way of blowing organisational tasks way out of proportion.
Relax! Getting your finances organised doesn’t have to be a massive undertaking. In that spirit, we’ve put together a series of small steps you can take every day for the next thirty days to get yourself all set to go.
Day 1
Download a free budget tracker. Print it out and put it on your fridge, in your purse, or wherever you will actually use it this month to track your expenditures. Commit to writing down everything you spend this month.
Alternatively, try an online tool such as iVillage's Cash Flow Calculator
Day 2
Take the time to write down a financial goal you would like to achieve within the next 12 months. Maybe it’s climb out of debt, maybe it’s to fully fund an emergency account. Once you’ve selected a goal, break it down into a series of smaller, monthly goals.
Day 3
Set an egg timer for 10 minutes today to brainstorm all of the steps you could take to achieve your financial goals. No idea is a bad idea. Just generate as many ideas as you possibly can.
Day 4
Do you have an organised way to keep track of your receipts? Get a small accordion file and keep it in your handbag or briefcase. Once a day, transfer loose receipts from your wallet or bag into the organiser. At the end of the week or month, you'll have them handy when you reconcile your accounts.
Day 5
When was the last time you audited your finances? Try it now! Set a reminder in your calendar to do the same again in 30 days.
Day 6
Take a moment to reflect on the purchase decisions you have made today. Whether you’re aware of it or not, you have sent a message to the world through the things you paid for. What did you choose? Do your purchases reflect the values you wish to live by?
Day 7
Look back on your expenditures for the past week. Have you been diligent about tracking what you’re spending? If not, why not? What could you do to make it easier to track? If you’re avoiding it for emotional reasons, why? What are you afraid you will see?
Day 8
Do you know your credit score? Find out from your bank now, it will be useful to know. And if you have bad credit now's the time to start trying to turn that around.
Day 9
Look back at the list you came up with on the third day. Pick the three things that you think will have the biggest impact on your ability to achieve your financial goal. Organise yourself tonight to implement them in the days ahead.
Day 10
If you have a private pension fund, are you aware of what contributions you have made to your account so far this year? Investigate whether you’re on track to make the payments into accounts for the year. If not, write it in your planner as a 'to-do.' If you do not have one look into getting a private pension.
Day 11
Take stock of the credit cards in your purse. How many do you have? Do you really need them all? Evaluate what they are doing for you. Can you get rid of any with very high interest rates? Experts recommend you have three. If you have more, consider winnowing what’s in your wallet.
Day 12
Try refraining from buying anything today. Don’t pay for others to entertain you and don’t purchase any goods. Cook using food already in your fridge and choose activities that are totally, utterly free. At the end of the day reflect on how it felt. Was it difficult to make it through the day? To what degree are you even conscious of spending money day-to-day?
Day 13
Is your financial information organised? If you’re married, do you know where all of the financial accounts are held?
If not, sit down with your significant other tonight to discuss what accounts you have, where they each are, and who to contact at each institution if needed.
Day 14
Your bank probably has some free tools and resources to make you more financially fit. Look online or call or visit your branch to see what’s available. Specifics to look for: online spending analyses and savings calculators.
Day 15
What do you have lying around your house that you no longer use that could be transformed into cash? If you have more than 20 items, go to a car boot sale at the end of the month. If fewer, consider selling them on eBay or Gumtree.
Day 16
Sign up for daily financial tips and advice from sites such as Money Saving Expert.
Day 17
Map out the birthdays of friends and relatives and anniversaries you have coming up in the next few months. Rather than spending a lot at the last minute, make a budget for them. Think up some gifts that fit within that budget now. If you can, purchase them this week.
Day 18
Do you spend a lot of money dining out each week? Sit down today and map out meals for the next 20 days. Tally up how much you typically spend eating out and apply half of that amount to your food budget. Put the rest right into your savings account.
Day 19
Are you an emotional spender? Where are your weak spots when it comes to consuming? Just like dieters need to understand potential emotional eating pitfalls, consumers need to be aware of emotional hardwires that can trip unnecessary spending sprees.
Day 20
If you buy your coffee outside the home, calculate how much you spend each day. Multiply that by the number of days you’ll buy coffee for the rest of the year.
Shocking, right? What if you treated yourself to special coffee once a week? How much of a difference would that make on your bottom line?
Day 21
Set up a Direct Debit from your current account to a savings account or ISA.
If you are short on cash, start small – £10 a week adds up surprisingly quickly.
Day 22
If you’re a woman and it’s been awhile since your last raise – it’s time to ask for more.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) in the UK has found that female graduates earn less than 20 per cent of their male counterparts.
For women who have not been to university, the gap rises to 23 per cent.
Day 23
If you have over 20 different accounts (from utilities to credit cards), each account comes with its own set of bills, statements, notices, offers, due dates, emails, paper mail, websites, and passwords. In short, it’s a nightmare to organise.
Sign up for one of the many services available that aggregate all of your account information in one place so that can truly go paperless.
Day 24
Do you currently subscribe to services that are automatically paid by a credit card on file each month?
If so, scour your statements and highlight any services that you are not using to the fullest extent. Call and cancel those accounts by the end of the day today.
Day 25
Get perspective. As important as this is, money is only one part of life and not even the most important. If you let it, money matters can consume your life.
Remember to keep focus on the really important parts of life: family, home, happiness, love and whatever else is in your heart. Pursue long-term financial security but never at the expense of your life.
Day 26
Do you have loose change lying about? Get some coin wrappers and tonight while you’re watching TV, wrap them up.
Deposit the coins on your way to work tomorrow.
Day 27
Check out Clare Francis's personal finance blog on iVillage.co.uk for weekly advice and tips on how to save money.
Day 28
Do you have adequate insurance? If something were to happen to you or your home, would you and your loved ones be covered?
Sites such as moneysupermarket.com will help you shop around for the best deals.
Day 29
Go to the library and take out a great book about financial wisdom.
There are so many great options, from The Millionaire Next Door to 9 Steps to Financial Freedom. Instead of watching TV tonight, read instead.
Day 30
At the end of the day, look back at your monthly expenditure worksheet. How did you spend your money? What are some 'leaks' in your bucket that could be plugged without too much hassle?
Set a budget for the coming month that assumes you fix those leaks.
Next Up: 10 steps to becoming debt free
Debt continues to be an issue for millions of people in the UK but even in these tough economic times there are ways of overcoming it.
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