Spending habits, the good ones, are an important part of our lives and, like any habit, we can learn by practicing controlling our spending habits. Here are 8 tips about money that we should continue to live in order to take control of our spending habits:

1. Pay attention to the interest rate

When you have loans, try to pay off the one with the highest interest rate. To save, look for the one with the best / highest interest rate. Always check your interest rates for both savings and debt – the compound interest rate can be your best friend (savings) and your enemy (debt). Check out this formula to find compounding interest to save.

2. Have a budget

Net income is what you budget for! It’s not money you expect somewhere! It is not the money that so and so promised you! And definitely not your credit card! It does not assume gross income, therefore the money that your employer or company contributes before all your deductions, such as taxes, retirement contributions.

Use the 50/20/30 rule for setting your budget: divide your net income by three; 50% goes to housing, transportation, utility bills and groceries, these are known as Essential Expenses; 20% goes towards your debt payments, savings contributions, investments and retirement contributions (some employers deduct these contributions from the gross wages of their employees), these are called your financial priorities and finally 30% of Your net income should go towards your lifestyle choices. These include personal care, restaurant, Internet, entertainment, gym membership dues, shopping, and other miscellaneous and discretionary expenses.

3. Treat your money as part of you – set specific financial goals

“I want to pay off my credit card loans this year.” This statement is just silence; it doesn’t push you to do anything. Now let’s look at this statement: “By the end of July of this year, I want to pay $ 250 on my ZXY bank credit card and by September of this year, I want to pay the $ 100 of my Clothing Shop-by-Choix credit card.” The second statement is clear and compiles you to do something. You can divide the $ 250 by the months until July and establish how much you will have to pay each month to reach your goal, the same applies to the $ 100 debt.

4. Love yourself and be grateful

Appreciate the things you have first and don’t base your life on others or even your friend because we all walk different financial paths. Acquiring more materials will NOT make you happy – the more you get, the more you want.

5. Avoid co-signing a loan

If the bank asks the borrower to have a co-signer, it means that the bank does not trust the borrower to meet his payments and neither should you. The joint signature of your friends or family can affect your credit score if they don’t pay their fees and the bank can come after you.

6. Rethink what your money can do for you: invest in the stock market

One of the reasons people don’t invest is because they think they can’t afford to invest in stocks with little money and that it’s just a waste of time, but when you start with what little you have, you’re actually taking a lot of money. money. step towards building your wealth. Almost everyone allows themselves to start investing in stocks when they learn to be disciplined with their money. The risk of not investing now is wasting time and wasting time means losing wealth growth.

7. Your increased income should sponsor your savings and investments.

Getting a raise doesn’t mean more automation of spending habits; Instead of spending more, use your increase to increase your investments and savings.

8. Apply for the reward card from your local grocery store

If your local grocery store offers a loyalty program, sign up, as this can help you save on groceries through the rewards they offer for your purchase or even buying at a cheaper price than the cardless shopper. Just make sure that the prices they sell the products are the same or lower than in other local stores; otherwise the loyalty card won’t pay off – the goal is to make the card work for you.