Find Out Now, 6 Essential Tips for Better Personal Finances

Personal finance is essential to every consumer. It doesn’t matter how much money you make or what job you have, dealing with your finances is a must. When your finances aren’t on track, it can throw off everything else in your entire life. Here are some tips you can follow to keep your personal finances in order.

Always have an emergency fund

Unexpected expenses can happen to anyone at anytime. It’s important to have an emergency fund that you can access to cover things like unexpected medical expenses, major car repairs, or recovery from a natural disaster. Unfortunately, nearly a quarter of Americans have $0 emergency savings These types of events often happen without warning and with little time to prepare. Fortunately, since we know that unexpected things do happen, we should prepare for them ahead of time by building a good emergency fund.

Each payday, put 10% of your income into a separate savings account. The harder it is for you to access this savings, the easier it will be for the savings to grow. You can set up automatic savings transfer from your checking to your savings account to save effortlessly.

Change your due dates

If you have several bills due all at the same time of the month, contact your billers to change the due dates. For example, you might change some of your bills to fall later in the month if you have many of them that are due at the beginning of the month. That way, you can balance out your bills throughout the month rather than have them all due at the same time each month.

Contact your mortgage lender for options to catch up.

A mortgage is one of the toughest payments to catch up on. Once you get behind, you may have to pay several thousand dollars to finally bring your account current. If you’re unable to get caught up, you may consider a short sale with your bank. The short sale will allow you to avoid a foreclosure. However a short sale will still go on your credit report and stay there for seven years. On the plus side, a short sale can be easier to recover from than a foreclosure.

Get a credit card with a rewards program

Credit cards can be useful in building credit as long as you manage your account wisely.  Here are some of the best cash back credit cards of 2017. That’s not the only way to benefit from a credit card. By applying for a credit card with a rewards program, you can also earn points or miles that you can apply toward future travel. Keep up with the miles you earn and use them before they expire.

Maintain your vehicle

Your car is another major monthly expense. You can extend the lifetime of your car by keeping up with regular maintenance. For example, make sure your tire pressure is always appropriate. Keep up with your regular oil changes. And get routine maintenance performed on your car. This will allow you to save money on gas and extend the life of your car, allowing you to avoid taking on a car loan sooner than you’re ready.

Related: Are Vehicle Protection Plans Worth It?

Avoid impulse purchases

As consumers, we’re bombarded with advertising messages. Everywhere you turn, there’s another company that wants to you purchase something. Part of personal finance management is learning to avoid the impulse to make purchases that you haven’t planned for. This keeps you within your budget and allows you to avoid overspending.

These are important personal finance tips to incorporate into your everyday life. Always strive to know as much as you can about personal finance and money management so you can maintain financial success at every level.