15 Steps to Manage Your Money Better -

Last updated Apr. 18, 2023 by Charles Zemub

Life is much better when you have good money management skills. Not to worry, you don’t need to attend financial schools or be a pro in maths to equip yourself with these skills – you just need an easy guide to get there.

Because money is not easy to get, it’s wise to know how to manage it. In addition, how you spend your money affects your credit score and the amount of debt you’ll end up raking. Therefore, if you’re experiencing difficulties with money management and moneylending, it is hard to achieve your financial goals; here are the steps to manage yourself better.

1. Understand Your Financial Life

Even in typical life situations, the first step to becoming successful is knowing yourself – the same is the case with your financial life. First, you need to come to terms with your financial habit to learn how and where your money is going. In doing this, you’ll also know where you’re getting it all wrong (financially) and how to correct your mistakes.

You’ll also need to be truthful and honest when checking on these habits. Consider debt, unnecessary spending, and high expenses ruining your finances, and celebrate the good financial choices you made – after which you’ll need to seek ways to improve on your lapses.

2. Create a Realistic Budget

Two business partnership coworkers analysis strategy with discussing a financial planning graph and company budget during a budget meeting in office room.

It could be either a weekly or monthly budget. A good budget will help you manage your money by tracking your spending/expenses, planning your spending, and helping you to save. Creating a budget might be tedious, but think of the benefits of having a budget.

For one, budgeting is a healthy financial habit – so if you aim to take charge of matters about your finances, this is the first step. Your budget should include your earnings, expenses for the week/month, and savings. Also, remember to only create a realistic budget – one that you are capable of funding and implementing. Furthermore, do not create a budget you cannot meet or one that is above your pay grade. Similarly, only include expenses you’re confident you need to avoid unnecessary spending.

3. Set Financial Goals

One of the essential steps to managing your money better is by setting well-articulated financial goals. Financial goals are carefully designed objectives aimed at achieving financial freedom and success. Creating and accomplishing your financial plan will improve your financial life and help you maintain a steady flow of income.

However, the primary objective of setting a financial goal is that it helps you remain focused, motivated, and determined toward the extent you want to reach financially. There’s no stress in formulating these goals- but you’ll need to take out time to plan and organize your finances. You should include the following factors when creating your financial goals.

– Your plans for the future (financially).

– Bad financial habits to cut-off

– Loan and debt repayment plan

– Plan to pay off your mortgage (if available).

Once you have a clear idea of money’s role in your life, then make specific goals to manage your finances for a better future.

4. Track Your Spendings

You may be surprised that your money mysteriously disappears even when you don’t buy expensive stuff. However, your inability to account for your spending is not far from the fact that you are unknowingly overspending. Therefore, tracking your spending will help you to discover these hidden expenses sabotaging your financial plans.

The easy way to track your spending is to save every receipt and write down every purchase you make. Then, categorize them concisely so you can quickly identify areas where you’re experiencing difficulties keeping your spending in check. Discovering this will help you manage your money and give up an upper hand in creating an adequate budget.

5. Cut Back on Expenses

As you set your financial goals, create your budget and track your spending, do well also to cut out unnecessary spending. Start by revisiting your budget or expenses for the month, and look out for unnecessary costs which you can eliminate to save you extra cash. Even cutting as little as $20 from your budget can help you to save a significant $240 for the year.

Some expenses you need to cut out include a box subscription, work lunches, or your cable package. Cutting back costs can also help curb lavish spending and unhealthy financial habits. Therefore, this is one of the requisite steps to manage your money better today.

6. Set Up Checkings and Savings Account

Setting up reliable bank accounts is the building block of financial success. If you are looking for the best means to manage your money, try setting up checking, saving, and investment accounts. Having these accounts to manage your funds will also help you to generate more money and secure your financial future.

However, having a checking and savings account is essential to help you easily split your spending cash from long-term savings. Having only savings in your checking account will make it hard to avoid the temptation of spending your hard-earned savings untimely. In addition, an investment will be good in growing your finances over time.

7. Monitor Your Finances Daily

To record progress in your goal to manage your money better, start by evaluating and observing your spending. Take at least five minutes daily to visit your budget and know if you’re still on the right track. You could be overspending or deviating from your budget without even knowing.

Therefore, you should make adjustments if necessary; otherwise, continue to maintain the good work. You can carry out your finance monitoring early in the morning before heading to work or at night before going to bed. Use a spreadsheet or an app to determine and track your spending quickly.

8. Create Responsible Debt Repayment Strategies

Debt can be an implement to reach your financial breakthrough. Therefore, creating a realistic plan to pay off your debt is wise. Make debt repayment a priority when building your finances so you can finally be free of it and live a healthy financial life.

Research debt repayment strategies and pick the one you feel will help your situation. In addition to improving your finances, closing your debt can help you start saving. So, do not let debt stand in the way of achieving your financial dream. Instead, create a sustainable plan today and get rid of that debt for good.

9. Start Saving For Retirement Now

Though it may seem early, saving for retirement now is also an intelligent money management skill. It might not be an astronomical sum but will accumulate to something sustainable to rely on in the future. You can start by contributing to employer-sponsored retirement plans.

Also, leverage any matching funds your employer offers to add to your retirement savings account. However, if your boss doesn’t give matching funds, then start contributing to a Roth IRA instead. Otherwise, make a contribution to your retirement with each paycheck you get and set a goal for your retirement savings to reach every year.

10. Start Investing

Managing your money is excellent, but seeking ways to grow your finances is even better. If you plan on building long-term wealth, then investing should be your line of focus. Investment for a long period will produce fantastic returns, and the advantages are enormous.

For one, your funds will keep increasing each time you invest, so you’ll have something to rely on when things go wrong in the future. However, before investing in any program or platform, make sure you carry out extensive research to be sure that your money is going to the right place. Also, only invest on platforms with good returns and those renowned (in the business for a long time) to avoid scamming.

11. Find an Accountability Partner

If you want to get serious about managing your money better, find someone with similar goals to help you stay on track. The person should be trustworthy and be able to help you in managing your funds as well. You don’t need to hire a financial expert – your best friend or partner would do. His/her responsibility is to help track your spending, evaluate your progress and also keep you focused.

Be free to discuss your challenges with him/her and be open to advise on how to overcome them. You might just be surprised about how much your friend can help you. And with time, you may begin to take the challenge of growing your finances seriously.

12. Avoid debt

Avoiding debt is an important step, especially when you’re deep into the process of money management. Unfortunately, most people tend to fall into the temptation of collecting loans to grow their finances which, when critically examined, is the other way around – borrowing money hinders your chances of improving your finances.

Firstly, the highest interest rate can eat through your savings, and taking multiple loans affects your credit score. Consequently, problems arise, making it hard for you to avail credit and, in the worst scenario, a job. So, one of the essential steps to managing your money better is limiting your debt as much as possible. On the other hand, taking too much debt or being dependent on credit cards can disrupt your budget and leave a heavy financial burden on you.

13. Plan for Emergencies

Whether we like it or not, unexpected spending is a part of our lives. Therefore, when planning your budget or expenses, don’t forget to be prepared for emergencies. Note that these unexpected spendings are not the same as unnecessary spending or spending out of impulse.

Emergency or unexpected spendings are money spent on uncertainties such as health emergency, dealing with job loss, or accident. Therefore, it’s best to secure an insurance plan like health insurance, term insurance, or critical illness insurance to help you cover the emergency area. And for other emergency areas that insurance can’t cover, such as unexpected travel, create an “emergency fund” account.

14. Organize Your Cash Flow

Organizing your cash flow will give you the power to control your spending and everything you receive. The best way to organize your cash flow is to start taking notes. Ensure you record everything and anything that comes in and goes out.

You can do this in any way you feel comfortable – writing on paper, an online spreadsheet, or even an app. For example, knowing your cash flow can keep you in tune with wrong financial decisions and other factors hampering your chances of gaining financial freedom. Similarly, it can make it easier for you to track your money and be able to quickly identify habits that improve your finances.

15. Never Give Up

Building anything takes time, and the same is with your finances. So, do not relent in your efforts to manage your money for the betterment of your life, regardless of the results you get. Instead, give yourself the time to learn and grow, and understand that mistakes only work to improve you.

In addition, continue reading books on managing your money to help you seek different ideas on becoming better at it. Understand that rich people don’t get to where they are overnight – it takes time, and success will only come to those who are persistent. Finally, you can manage your money better with hard work, dedication, and consistency.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do you Manage Money Properly?

You must devise a reliable plan to manage your money properly. You can include paying off your debt in your plan, monitoring your spending, and organizing your cash flow. Another great way to develop an effective management money habit is by creating and sticking to a realistic budget. Create a budget that will also cater to your expenses, spending, and savings.

What is the 70% Rule for Budgeting?

The 70% budgeting rule state that the largest chunk of your earnings, 70%, should be spent on living expenses, while 20% should be used for debt repayment and 10% for entertainment and other fun activities. Using the 70% budgeting rule can help you create a realistic and practical budget. It is also a good money management skill to implement.

What is The 30 Day Rule?

The 30-day rule is a saving habit that entails deferring all non-essential purchases and impulse buys for thirty days. So instead of spending your money unnecessarily or on things you may not need, you’ll have to take thirty days to think about it. Then, after thirty days, if you still feel you need to make the purchase, go ahead. The rule is primarily aimed at helping you to end unhealthy financial habits.

What is Money Management Cycle?

The money management cycle, also known as investment management, is the process of tracking expenses, banking, budgeting, and assessing tax liabilities. It is a strategic technique to get the highest interest-output value for the amount spent on making money. The money management cycle can help you to concentrate on what you make after taxes.

What is a Good Monthly Spending?

Good monthly spending entails making effective plans on how to spend your money to avoid bankruptcy. You can try a simple budget plan to achieve this. For this, we recommend the reliable 50/30/20 budge rule. The rule states that you’ll spend 50% after-tax on necessities, 30% on wants, and 20% on savings and debt repayment.

15 Steps to Manage Your Money Better