Author: Miguel Nitorreda, WLTH Finance Tracker
The spread of the coronavirus has created a lot of uncertainty as Australians come under financial pressure and those who can still work are doing so from their homes. With everything that is going on in the world, staying in control of your finances remains as important as ever, and the growing need to implement new ways stay in the green. Financial pressure during these challenging times can sneak up on you if you don’t create a plan to keep it under control, so we want to help.
Here are a few simple tips to get you started.
1. Understand your current situation
Do you truly know where your money is going? Take a look into all of your income, expenses, assets and liabilities you currently have. Understand where all your hard-earned money is being spent so you can effectively assess your financial position.
2. Essential vs non-essential
Take a look at all subscriptions, memberships, loan statements or any recurring cash outflows and reflect whether they deserve an ‘essential’ spot in your monthly expenses or can be forgone as ‘non-essential’. An expense you can look at for example is your gym membership. With all gyms now closed for the time being, it is a no-brainer to cancel or pause your membership if you are no longer using the services through online training. Nonetheless, items you deem as ‘essential’ are still subject to review. With more time up your sleeve, it is also the perfect time to do some research to see if you can find better plans and deals to save you some money.
3. Set goals and budget!
There are many guides on how to set a budget, so find a system that works best for you as everyone is different. When creating a budget, use budget groups that make sense for your lifestyle and help to understand your spending habits. This will not only help you to understand where your money is going, but give you an idea of where you can allocated funds for future months as well. Be strict with your budget values once it has been set and work hard to ensure you stay under your total budget each month!
4. Don’t be afraid to ask for help
A lot of Australians are feeling extremely vulnerable at the moment. If you have lost your job or are struggling financially, check to see if you’re eligible for government assistance. The country’s leaders are doing what they can to alleviate some of the financial burdens for those that need it most. On the same note, if you have a home loan, contact your lenders and check available hardship policies suitable to you.
The WLTH Finance Tracker provides a simple to use platform that will assist you to better understand and manage your financial position. With real time data feeds and the ability to manage your cashflow and budget, you can take control of your finances.
To help all Australians through these challenging times, we have created a 6 month Free offer for our WLTH Plus subscription. To sign up to WLTH Finance Tracker and activate this offer, simply click the link below and use the code STAYSAFE where it asks for a coupon code.
https://wlth.com.au/sign-up-plus/
To activate the offer you will need to enter your card details, but you will not be charged for 6 months and you can cancel at any time.