8 Tips for Becoming a Smart Money Manager

If you want to be a smart money manager, one of the first things you need to do is set goals that you want to achieve. Take into account your current financial situation, your career goals, and your long-term life goals, and work from there. Once you know what you want to achieve financially, you can put in place a plan to accomplish it. It’s easy to get overwhelmed if you take on too much all at once, so start with one or two things and gradually add more things as you make progress towards your financial goals.

Below are  8 Tips for Becoming a Smart Money Manager

1) Monitor your budget

This one can be tricky. It’s okay to set up alerts with the bank or with your credit card company, so that you know when there’s activity on your account that’s out of the ordinary. One idea is to have your bank or credit card company send you alerts, such as your balance was $1000 and now it’s $500. This way, if there are any fraudulent charges you will be able to fix them before too much damage is done.

2) Prioritize your spending

When it comes to spending, it is important to prioritize what is necessary and make sure that you are using your money wisely. Save up when possible so that you can always have money in the bank as well. Avoid credit cards, try to maintain the principle at all times and avoid any bad debt or obligations.

3) Take control of your debt

There are so many factors that go into becoming a good money manager, and making sure you have minimized your debt is one of them. For most people, their credit card debt is the first place to look when you want to take control of your finances. A little time, effort and discipline will go a long way in minimizing this type of debt.

4) Know where you stand financially

Do you know where you stand financially? Take the time to answer these few questions and find out what it’s like to be an expert at your own finances. You can make life easier, whether or not there are paychecks in the pipeline. Put aside small amounts of money from each paycheck and save it into different types of accounts. It’ll grow over time and will eventually become a substantial amount that can help with things like college tuition, retirement funds, home purchases, etc.

5) Build your credit score

One of the first steps in becoming an effective money manager is building a strong credit score. To build your credit score, you’ll need to be proactive about using your credit and following up with lenders if there are any problems. Building your credit will ensure that you have access to more lines of credit and interest rates that are favorable, should you need them in the future.

6) Establish an emergency fund

It is important to establish an emergency fund. Ideally, it should be about six months of your living expenses, which can keep you afloat if you lose your job or incur some other unexpected expense. It will help protect you from the financial whiplash that can happen when unemployment benefits and savings run out. Putting enough money in there to cover any unexpected events is the best way to stop the scramble when they do occur.

7) Set goals for your finances

One of the most important things you can do as a college student is manage your money. By setting goals, you will know where you want to be and how to get there. Make sure your goals are specific, measurable, and achievable. Set shorter-term goals that are quantifiable so that you can reach them quicker. Short-term goals should allow you to create more long-term and personal goals that will give you fulfillment outside of schoolwork.

8) Boost Your Income

If you’re looking to boost your income, one of the best places to start is with some side hustles. You can earn extra money, do what you love, and have more time for the things that are important to you with just a few hours of work each week. Whether it’s driving for Uber or Lyft, renting out your home on Airbnb, dog walking, or running errands for busy people on TaskRabbit – there are plenty of ways to get started today. Get Started: 

Mint makes it easy to monitor all of your bank accounts in one place so you can find ways to cut costs and increase savings. And if you want an even deeper dive into your spending habits, track them using Personal Capital.