What does it take to repair your broken finances? Is it all about getting a big loan to pay the whole thing off in one lump sum, and then find yourself owing much more than you originally intended? Or is it about getting financially savvy and penny-pinching whenever possible, which will make you miserable because you’re effectively going without? Well, the answer is all about striking a delicate balance between the two. The answer is not about depriving yourself or digging yourself a bigger hole, the trick is to identify the biggest habits you have, and altering them.
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What’s the best way to start new money habits? It’s all about making gradual changes. If you decided to make a drastic overhaul to your spending, you would feel like you’re depriving yourself, so what you need to do is address the outgoings that cost you the most. Look at your bank statement and begin to identify any trends in your spending, and make swaps that are cheaper. If you buy a coffee on the way to the office every day, can you swap it for something that is just as nice that you can make at home? Because if that is one big regular spend that you can eradicate, it will go the distance. We all need our morning coffee, so I’m not saying to go without! But if you can make those swaps to something a lot more affordable, it will have a fantastic effect on your bank balance.
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The issue of reliability is one that crops up when you’re looking to borrow money or start a new contract, so after you are able to make cheaper swaps, it will take some time for your bank balance to appear more reliable in the eyes of money lenders. So, if you have other essentials that you need to alter, there are things like utility providers that charge a fixed rate every month. Or you could get a phone contract for bad credit, which takes the stress out of the impact on your credit score. Once you appear much more reliable, the lending terms of things like loans will be more manageable. A bad credit score is like a blotch on your record, and if you do have bad credit right now, you can still get the essentials for a good price.
If you still find yourself in financial difficulties when you’ve made these changes, then you can start to make swaps in your staples. Looking at your coffee on the way to the office as a treat and your breakfast, lunch, and evening meals as essentials, you can start to make swaps for cheaper brands, which can be a shock to the system for many. But it’s important to remember that there are discount stores that sell good brands for cheap, you just have to look harder for them. Again, getting into the habit of locating online vouchers or seeing where your favorite items are on offer currently makes a big difference in your wallet.