Focused Woman International

MANAGING YOUR FINANCES

KEYS TO DEVELOPING A HEALTHY FINANCIAL LIFESTYLE 

 1.   Always live on a budget:  Plan how you will spend your money. You should plan your budget to correspond with the date you get paid and list priority items first (ie. tithes, mortgage, loan payments, life insurance premium, utilities, etc.). 

2.   Always prepare a list before you go shopping (especially grocery shopping). List the grocery items in order of priority and where possible, affix an estimated cost next to each item to determine in advance how much you will spend.

3.   Make loan payments on time to avoid additional interest accruing on your account unnecessarily.  Give priority to the loans with the highest balances, which usually carry a higher daily interest cost.

4.   Avoid requesting payment waivers. These only result in an extension of your loan term, an increase in your loan payment, or both.

5.   Avoid the temptation to borrow for consumer purposes (ie. Vacation, furniture, etc.).Whenever you borrow, ensure that the monies are used to improve your asset value, which ultimately improves your net worth (eg. purchase real estate, government bonds, etc).

6.   Set aside at least 10-20% of your earnings and place it on a deposit account to increase your savings.

7.   Pay yourself a set salary from the business income if you are self-employed, you should.  You should establish a business chequing account, deposit the gross income, and write cheques to pay all business related expenses, to ensure proper record keeping.

8.   Make daily deposits to their savings account if you receive income on a daily basis (ie. Croupiers, waiters/waitresses, food vendors, etc.)  This will help you to avoid any temptation to overspend.

9.   Do not join an asue plan unless you can afford to. Eg. If your bills and loan payments are falling into arrears while you are making asue payments, you are hurting yourself financially and you will end up paying late fees and other charges on your accounts unnecessarily.

10.If you are operating on a reduced income (personal or household income), you need to re-visit your budget with a view to making adjustments temporarily until your financial position improves.  Make an appointment to see your Bank Relationship Officer, to make arrangements for reduced loan payments.  Advise the Banker of your current income and provide him/her with a list of your expenses.