When it comes to the family finances, it can be a tough job, one that hopefully you aren’t taking the whole weight on your shoulders when it comes to paying bills, managing debt, and making sure you have enough to life off in the future when you can finally retire. Whether it’s your significant other, a friend or family member you can trust, or a professional, it’s always a good idea to seek out advice on how to best handle your hard-earned money now and preparing for the future.
Giving Yourself a Cushion
You never know what will happen in life, when an unexpected charge can hit your wallet and throw your entire finances out of whack, so it’s a good idea to be as prepared as possible. By saving up a few months’ worth of expenses you can have a cushion available if you all of a sudden need to replace an appliance, pay a vet bill, or even cover a couple of months if you’re in between jobs. Keeping any more than a few months in the account can make you miss out on any possible growth like it could in a brokerage account.
Saving for Retirement
While walking away from work and living the stress-free lifestyle may still be a few decades away, it’s never too early to start preparing, as the longer you wait, the less you can have to live off to continue the life experience that you’d like to enjoy when you no longer have to worry about work. Contributing to your 401k account is a great way to save, and check at work to ensure that you are taking full advantage of any company-matching contributions, otherwise you could be leaving free money on the table that could add up to thousands of dollars a year.
Figuring Out How to become Debt-Free
It can be hard enough to pay the monthly bills as they are, not to mention food, gas, a little spending money, so tacking on debt and it could really throw a wrench in your monthly budget. If you are unable to pay off the full credit card statement balance by the due date, then interest will begin to be added on, which depending on the APR on the card and the balance, could add a significant amount to each payment, and by only making the minimum payment you will do little to chip away at the balance. By coming up with a plan to become debt-free, and staying out of debt, you can then really start to get ahead in your finances instead of be held back.
When to Save for Child’s Future
You don’t want to be stuck figuring out how to pay for college or a wedding if you choose to do so, so planning as far in advance will help. Right when your baby is born is a good time to start saving, whether it’s putting money into a brokerage account or a college savings account, if you want to help pay for your child’s big life events, it’s never too early to start saving.