Where Does All The Money Go?
It often seems that not long after payday, the bank account is low again! And doesn’t it seem that it is during those times that we have some emergency need for cash? If the emergency had happened last month, everything would have been fine, but this month the electric bill was extra high or your car registration had to be paid. No matter how strict a budget you stick too, unplanned and unnecessary expenses can really erode our bank account and leave us in a tight and scary financial position. When a situation arises when you need an immediate cash advance, a payday loan may be the perfect answer. It can help you meet the sudden financial requirements in your life and you can repay it on your next payday helping to eliminate the gap between cash flow.
What You Really Need
Have you ever heard the saying, “When it rains it pours?” It is well known that expenses have a way of accumulating. We might earn enough to meet our expenses, but we do not always take proper care of our various daily and monthly expenses. If we do not budget correctly, we can easily overextend ourselves every pay period. If we look carefully at our spending, several expenses are completely unnecessary and eat up a fair share of our earnings. If you have gone over budget in the last month, check your bank account; you might find a lot of spending that you hadn’t planned for and quite a few of those charges could have been avoided. Remember that saving money may not be fun but it is necessary! DO you really need a Starbucks latte everyday? Could you make it a Tuesday and Thursday treat, saving you three days of lattes a week?
Social Spending
Social spending is another thing that may force you to spend more money than your budget allows. For example, it is your anniversary and you want to take your wife out for an expensive dinner even though you haven’t budgeted the money or suddenly you realize your 8 year old has requested an expensive party for his upcoming birthday. Or what about overspending on Christmas gifts for everyone from your kids to Aunt Hilda? These types of expenses are hard to avoid but these will be more than luxuries for you if you have outstanding credit card bills or unpaid utility bills. These things are often hard to compromise on but sometimes it has to to be done in order to maintain a healthy bank account. I am sure your wife would be just as happy to have a nice dinner at home, made by you with some store bought roses, for your anniversary.
Create a Budget
While planning and creating a budget, you should encourage your entire family to join in so that everybody can contribute their ideas and can understand the ins and outs of the final plan. Everyone is responsible to stick to the budget, and it can be helpful for your kids to understand that you can’t spend money without thinking and planning about it first. If you can’t get your budget to work and your expenses exceed your income, you may need to consider getting a second job, a change in your current job or maybe change in your lifestyle to meet your financial restrictions.
