photo by Fabian Blank
7 Quick Fire Facts about Your Money.
I find it amazing that we’re taught all about Pythagors’s Therom in Maths at school but not taught how to manage our own money or how a credit card or mortgage works.
I, like many others before me have muddled my way through and get by with a general knowledge of the basics. The following list is a v short basic list of the things I think me and my friends should have known when we turned 18 and kind of picked up along the way.
Have you spent more money than you had in your debit account?
You will be charged for the pleasure and probably interest on whatever you have effectively ‘borrowed’ until you’ve paid it back. Check the small print and make sure you don’t go over drawn to save a nasty surprise.
Keep your identity safe
If identity theft happens to you it can cause a huge amount of grief and take forever to rectify. Think about where your mail is being delivered – do you live in a shared house of block of flats? Who has access to your details who could use them against you? Don’t give out personal information if you’re not sure you should.
Credit cards & store cards
Make sure you pay the whole amount owed every time and not just the minimum. Its easy for small debts like this to get out of control very quickly. Try to avoid them at all costs and avoid impulse buys. If you want to buy something, save for it first.
Concentrate on debts before savings.
Then try to save a percentage of whatever you earn for rainy days, redundancy, a possible future deposit on a house and mortgage, first car etc… Set up a direct debt or standing order depending on where the money is going so the its transferred out of your account hassle free. Chances are after a while you wont even miss it.
Not making payments on a loan?
If you stop making payments on credit cards, store cards or student loan etc then beware. You could end up with debt collectors knocking at your door. If this happens then the original debt will have spiralled out of control to include court costs and all kinds of additional costs that the debt collectors will want to take assets from wherever you’re living if you can’t prove it doesn’t belong to you.
Its your money and your responsibility.
Budget your money and try not to spend what you don’t have.
Most of all don’t ignore any problems you get yourself into. There are plenty of organisations out there who offer help on debt management and managing your money.
Spend wisely
shop around for the best deal. It might take an extra hour or so but it might also save you enough for a good night out.
Worried about Money?
I think the most important lesson here is that the more you look after your money the less you need to worry about money in general. Yes it’s boring to think about but equally the thought of massive debts keeping me awake at night has always been enough to make sure i don’t end up that way!
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