Money management might sound complicated, but what it really means is learning how to handle your finances, from budgeting to setting long-term goals for financial success.
What is Money Management?
It all starts with thinking about your financial priorities. What do you want to accomplish with your money? Maybe you want to pay down your credit card debt, buy a house, or go on a dream vacation.
Whatever your financial priorities are, to manage your money effectively, you must create goals and focus on working toward them steadily. Developing a sense of urgency about money management will help you to stay on course and stick to your goals over time.
How to Manage Money?
1. Set Up a Budget
Your first step in creating a budget is to identify the amount of money you earn (income). You can then start tracking your expenses to see how they stack up against your income.
Knowing how much you make and where your money goes, you can set a financial goal and implement a plan. You may have to adjust your spending habits to meet your goal(s).
Here are a few quick ways to cut unnecessary expenses from your budget:
- Optimize your taxes.
- Shop around for less expensive insurance.
- Eliminate recurring expenses tied to services you do not need.
- Shop smartly.
- Avoid impulse purchases.
Stay motivated and set small, easily achievable goals at first. Do not forget to track your progress and re-adjust spending and income as your circumstances change.
Once you have defined your financial priorities and set up a budget, you have laid a solid foundation for good money management.
2. Set Up An Emergency Fund
With the savings resulting from your budget-conscious spending, you can build an emergency fund.
This is important because trouble can strike at any time, and one emergency can derail your financial health in short order. Try to build an emergency fund large enough to handle three to six months of expenses if possible. Doing so may save you from having to use credit cards to handle unexpected expenses, which may help prevent a momentary setback from becoming a long-term financial burden.
Steering clear of debt before it spirals out of control is always better than having to deal with debt. If you are in debt already, however, part of your money management strategy should be to focus on eliminating your debt as soon as possible.
3. Get Out of Debt
If you have a small amount of debt to pay off, find ways to cut your spending and put the money you save each money toward your debt until it is paid.
However, if your debt has spun out of control and you do not see a way to pay it on your own, do not hesitate to explore all your options for debt relief. Some of the options you can explore are:
Debt relief professionals can help you understand the options available to you. You can then make an informed decision about which path to take. Call a ClearOne Certified Debt Specialist at 866-481-1597 now to discuss your optimal path out of debt. Get a personalized debt relief plan. 
4. Build up Your Credit Score
Keep your eyes on your credit score and build it up by repaying your loans and proving to credit bureaus that you know how to manage money responsibly. Educate yourself about how credit scores work and what you can do to improve yours.
A good credit score gives you access to better interest rates on credit cards, loans, and financial products you would not be able to use otherwise.
5. Establish Long-Term Financial Goals
Mastering savings and managing debt are essential to good money management, but for long-term success, it is also important to establish long-term financial goals and work toward them steadily. For instance, plan for retirement by taking advantage of your employer's 401(k) offering or an individual IRA. As you become more comfortable with the idea of investing, consider branching out into other investment vehicles as appropriate for your budget to build your nest-egg further.
Money management starts with setting the right goals for where you are now financially and for where you want to be in the future. If you are struggling with debt currently, now is the time to take financial control. Get a free savings estimate from ClearOne Advantage to get started today.
