What’s the best piece of financial advice you’ve ever received? Can you think of someone who acted as a mentor in your life and showed you how to achieve your financial goals? Not everyone is lucky enough to have a financial mentor in their life, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to pick up some handy tips to turn you into a personal finance whiz.
Many of us consider financial matters to be a private, sensitive subject. It can be hard to open up to someone about your financial dreams or to find someone you trust enough to give you valuable advice. Even advice from incredibly wealthy individualsseems out of touch with the average person’s modest goals. When you need some help with your finances and don’t know where to go, you can turn to a Licensed Insolvency Trustee for personal finance tips from industry professionals who understand your situation.
The Industry Professionals
It can be hard to acknowledge that you’re in a difficult place with your own finances. When debt starts to feel overwhelming and you can’t see how you’re going to pay your bills, then getting advice and guidance from an empathetic and knowledgeable trustee is one of the best things you can do for yourself.
Make an appointment with a firm like David Sklar& Associates to meet with a Licensed Insolvency Trustee (formerly known as bankruptcy trustees) and a Certified Insolvency Counsellor. They can help with debt management, debt consolidation, personal and corporate insolvency, consumer proposals, and credit counselling in a professional and confidential manner.
Some Financial Basics
While there’s no substitute for advice from a qualified debt professional for addressing your difficult financial situation, there are some things you can do right away to develop healthy money habits.
1. Check your interest rates. Do you know the interest rates for your loans, credit cards, and savings account? Prioritize loan and credit card repayment according to interest rate. For a savings plan, do what you can to open an account with the best interest rate to make the most of your money.
2. Set Up a Financial Calendar. Organize your days, weeks, and months using a calendar app or old-fashioned day planner with important dates for paying bills, taxes, loan repayment, and savings account deposits.
3. Try the All-Cash Diet. For those with a habit of overspending, using cash only will help break you out of those bad habits. It really does work, though it might take some getting used to and a little bit of self-reflection before you see improvements.
Budgeting
Budgeting is the number one starting point for planning and reaching your financial goals. Some people suggest a three-month observation period where you see where you spend before categorizing your expenses, but you can try any approach that works for you.
Establish a budget on your own or with the help of a financial professional. Just set it up in a way thatlets you track your progress. Get some input if you can, you never know what kind of tips someone might be able to share.