Stressful Budget? Here Are Four Hacks to Get Ahead with Finances

• Author: Bryan Miller
• Posted: 2024-06-21

With the COVID-19 pandemic seeing no end in sight, many peoples' finances have been affected. From problematic issues like joblessness and increased homelessness to crashing stocks, almost everyone has been affected by it. Regardless of where your finances are, here are four hot tips to stay ahead when it comes to personal finances.

Keep Separate Bank Accounts

Keeping separate savings accounts can help you ensure that you're able to pay all your bills. Many people choose to just hold onto one checking account and use it for everything. This can be easy to do, but it often leads to overspending and other related issues.

Having a few different savings accounts is helpful. For example, forming a savings account for an emergency fund, one to pay off necessary bills, and one to keep money for recreational activities in can help.

If you have a good amount of money for a savings account, you might want to look into high yield savings accounts. These accounts often provide a much higher APY than accounts used solely for checking purposes. Some checking accounts currently offer bonuses of up to 2% cash back.

Wait Five Minutes Before Making That Purchase

Before making any purchase, especially online purchases, waiting five minutes can help out a lot. Waiting five minutes after seeing an item can help. Turning off one-click ordering is also a literal lifesaver for many people who find it difficult to keep a handle on their current finances.

It also helps to look at your current state of finances before making any online purchase. If you are already in a good amount of debt, holding off on unnecessary purchases can help a lot. Keeping track of where the debt comes from is also a great measure to take.

There are some apps and browser extensions that can help with this endeavor. Some online shopping platforms make it easier than others to set up automated spending and shopping limits to ensure that your wallet stays safe during the pandemic too.

Periodically Check Your Budget

Taking a glance at your current state of financial affairs can help, as well. Even if you aren't about to purchase anything, looking at your finances from time to time can help you majorly cut down on costs. Taking a look at your income to debt ratio can also ensure that you don't overspend too much.

Your budget is made up of all the money you take in. Your debt is all of the money you currently owe back to companies and people for various endeavors. There are plenty of apps and other services that make it quite easy to check out your current income to debt ratio.

Research Purchases Before Making Them

Researching purchases before making that final leap and submitting the purchase can make a huge difference. There are plenty of alternatives for online shopping to the service you use the most. Often, the most convenient options are not in fact the cheapest options. It isn't always that easy, but you can often instantly find much lower prices on merchandise and digital content.

The purchases you research can be further enhanced by browser add-ons and the like. Browser enhancements to online shopping sites can sometimes even generate a lot more cash back. There are also services that allow you to purchase gift cards and then use them with your favorite stores. Gift cards are quite lucrative and can yield high returns on investments. These can be especially high-paying when it comes to department store and the like.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it's easy to hit the shopping trigger fast when you see something you like online and wish to purchase. However, it's difficult to always stick to your original budget if you currently have one.

With so many services moving online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is often quite difficult to figure out what can even be purchased from brick and mortar stores anymore. However, just being able to to do a thorough price comparison can take a good amount of time but is worth the while.

Anyone currently struggling with homelessness or poverty can often find budget hacks through social service agencies, as well. These can be a great way to make that first important step towards securing the rest of your future and turn any situation around from desperation to satisfaction and hope for life.