7 signs you aren't as good with money as you think you are

Signs you aren't as good with money as you think you are_2016_lead

Everyone has to deal with their money, and some of us do it better than others.

If you think you're a master of handling your personal finances — or you've never given a thought to your level of expertise — take a look at the points below.

Your approach might not be as flawless as you think.

You don't know how much you earn or spend.

If you don't know how much money enters and leaves your bank account each month, you're setting yourself up for overdrafts, overspending, and debt.

Solution: Start keeping a record of your income and expenses. You can use an app like Mint, LearnVest, or You Need a Budget, an Excel spreadsheet, or even a pen and paper, if that's your style. Knowing how much money it takes to sustain your lifestyle is key.

Once you know how much you earn and how much you spend, some simple arithmetic will reveal how much you can afford to save, invest, or spend on high-tech headphones.

Bonus points if you've progressed beyond tracking your income and spending to establish a monthly budget. (For tips, check out these real people who keep diligent budgets.)

You're carrying credit card debt.

Unlike good debts that come from investing in your future, bad debts, along with typically high interest rates, don't help you build wealth or assets.

Solution: Make paying your credit card debt a priority. Because of the debt's high interest rate, it has the potential to quickly spiral out of control, costing you thousands more in interest.

Take a look at 13 tips from people who paid off thousands of dollars of debt for inspiration and ideas.

You're surprised by your bills each month.

If you're living paycheck-to-paycheck, what will you do if there's an emergency cost like a hospital bill? How will you pay for grad school or a weekend away?

Solution: There are two ways to loosen the strings on your cash flow: Earn more money, or spend less. If you go the first route, take a look at tricks to negotiate a raise and ways to make extra cash while working full-time. If you're aiming to spend less, consider making a big impact by reducing your largest costs, like your rent or transportation, on top of spending less on a daily basis.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

from Strategy http://ift.tt/2evXAoU
via IFTTT