Keeping Your Finances in Order – in Personal & Business Life

Money is weird stuff. It’s complicated, unpredictable and can also be quite overwhelming. It’s almost like the more your try and understand it the harder it is to get your head around it. That’s not quite true though; there are many ways to make money simpler.
Money is complex in our personal lives, with lots of bills making regular payments very confusing and hard to keep track of. There’s also an issue when it comes to fees from banks and unexpected charges. Many people are in charge of business finances too, especially people who run their own business and make a living doing freelance work – so this is an added complication.

The way to make things simpler is to keep your finances in order. It’s pretty amazing what you can achieve by doing this, and it’s pretty much a matter of breaking bad money habits for the most part. A recent article by Carrie Sloan stated that when breaking bad money habits “nurture trumps nature—every time”. This is good news because it means you’re not necessarily doomed to make poor money decisions.

So, let’s explore some of the best tips to help keep your personal and business finances in order.

When it comes to business finances, there is absolutely no point in messing around. You want to have rock solid financial plans and keep yourself above board; after all that way you can hopefully pay yourself more.

Some tips for good business finance include;

• Accountants – This is an absolute must, accountants are very much necessary for proper procedures as it takes several qualifications to have the know how to manage business finances. Don’t cut corners, but don’t get fooled. You don’t need extensive financial services above the standard, the more exotic accountants in London might sound tempting with their services but the accountants Brighton has will be just as suited to your needs if you have small business or work freelance.

• Business Plan – There are a lot of different reasons why people go into business, but most people do it in an effort to earn a living. As a result, you should definitely put together a strong business plan for the future. This will make you very much motivated, and give you a fairly good idea of how things are going to go in future – which will then give you peace of mind. This will also enable you to make good financial decisions, as you have planned for them in advance.

• Software – A lot of businesses can benefit from things like financial reporting software such as cloud financial accounting and management software that gives you an accurate visualisation of your finances. This is especially useful if you run a business that has a large number of transactions, which can be hard to keep track of.

Business is business, and as a result people tend to put a much bigger emphasis on planning. But you’d be surprised how many people have the same bad financial habits they do in their personal lives, and it’s just a matter of breaking them to get your business in better financial shape. Accountants, a strong business plan and software are a great way to manage these habits.

The thing about personal finances is that they’re individual to you. This means that they are often ruled with emotion, as opposed to the cold hardnosed logic of business finance. As a result they have a tendency to be a lot more volatile. Think of all those times you’ve picked up an item you didn’t really need or dined in an expensive restaurant when you didn’t have much cash to hand and you’ll realise how volatile they are.

People seem to just not think at times, they live very much in the moment and often later have regrets. It’s not all about denying yourself, it’s just a matter of breaking bad habits. A few tips include;

• Start Saving – Everybody should save money every month for a rainy day if they can. Unexpected costs arise every now and then and it’s much easier to have a buffer with a healthy amount of savings than to have to dig deep and cut back. Shave off an amount that’s comfortable your first month and then add a little more each month until you’re used to missing that amount from your monthly budget. Of course, if you’re stretched already then it’s harder – but try to save something at least, many people aren’t saving at all which can be disastrous when times are tough.

• Prioritise Debt – A lot of people are in debt. Whether its credit cards, bank overdrafts or loans there is a big chance you will need to repay something each month. This should be made a priority as household debt can be very damaging to your finances. Credit card debt is important to pay off, as the interest rates mean you will pay a huge amount more than is necessary in the longer term if you put it off. Have a good think about whether a credit card is something you need. If you can use a debit card or a charge card you will be much more likely to stop interest accruing. Once your debts are paid off you should have much more stable monthly expenses.

Everybody is different, but even if your income is high you can still waste money by being lazy and not paying off credit cards promptly or tucking a little bit away each month. It’s not about cutting back; it’s about thinking ahead and planning for the future.

If you manage the finances of a business and your personal life, they both go hand in hand. It’s fair to say that there are many ways they overlap, but keeping them separate is necessary as they are both very different beasts. But, overall, if you take care of one you can much more easily take care of the other too – so start with the personal and the business will naturally follow.

Thanks for reading. Don’t forget to check the rest of my work on Instructables, I’d recommend “Important Things To Consider When Building An Intranet”.

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