While my adt may not have been the correct money move to make, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t certain behaviors that may be better for your financial situation. Between spending, saving, and giving yourself a cushion, it’s no wonder that handling the household finances is a big job, and while you can always consult a professional to help you, or bounce ideas of a family or friend that you trust, it certainly doesn’t have a be a task you have to be on your own for.
Build an Emergency Fund
You never know what life will throw at you, so it’s always a good idea to be as prepared as you can and give yourself a cushion so you don’t have to put any unexpected charges on a credit card and risk going into debt. Between a vet or medical bill, car repair, or even holding you over if you’re in between jobs, it’s a good idea to put a few months’ worth of expenses into an account to have on hand in you need it. I realize this is a large sum of money but this can be an account you can contribute to until you’re reached a sum of money you’re comfortable with.
Use a Rewards Credit Card
While credit cards are accepted anywhere and can provide protection from fraud by not having your bank account wiped out like it would with a debit card, probably the best reason to use a credit card, and one could argue it could be used for every purchase, is for the rewards. If you cannot go overboard with extra purchases and just use on the what you were going to spend anyways, you can be earning free money in cashback dollars, or points you can redeem for gift cards, hotel rooms, or airline miles.
Increase Retirement Savings
Retirement may still be decades away but that doesn’t mean you have to think about saving any less than you would if it were coming up. The earlier you can start, and increase each year, saving for retirement the better, so you can continue a quality and enjoy life’s experiences when you do finally walk away from work. Take a look to see if you are taking advantage of any employer-matching contributions as well, as you wouldn’t want to be missing out on free money that could be otherwise growing in your account over time.
Reduce Expenses
When it comes down to freeing up extra money, it just might be time to reduce expenses and make some tough sacrifices. Take going out to eat for instance. It’s nice to have someone cook, serve, and cleanup after you, but that comes at a price, one that you could save hundreds of dollars a month if you went grocery shopping and prepared your meals at home. Going into a little deeper dive, cancelling cable and going with a streaming service instead could free up a hundred or two a month that could go a long way in paying off debt, building an emergency fund, or saving for retirement.