This is a post from Kayla of FrugalRules.com. Kayla is a personal finance blogger in her mid-20s who loves to write about money topics of all kinds. Please let me know if you would like to guest post on MMYW.
Are you a famous celebrity? A sports star? A inventor with a patent on a popular product that’s made you a millionaire? If not, you are like most people and your income is limited.
When your income is limited, it’s natural that you want to make sure you make the best financial decisions you can to make the most of your money.
But if you’re not used to trying to make the most of your money, it may seem difficult. But it’s really not. Here 4 easy ways you can make the most of your money.
1 Create a Budget
Paying your bills without having a budget is kind of like taking a trip without a map – you know your destination, but your route to get there might not be the most efficient. When you’re on a trip, in order to prevent yourself from getting lost along the way, you probably grab your phone and pull up Google Maps or Map Quest or whatever navigation app you prefer to use. Creating and using a budget for your finances is like using the map app because it provides you with some direction. So get a budget in place to help you get where you want to go financially.
2 Eliminate Credit Card Debt
When you have credit card debt you need to get it paid off as soon as possible so you can eliminate this payment from your budget each month and avoid paying high interest rates. Of course, if you can avoid ever having credit card debt by paying any balances off each month that would be preferable. But if you already have more than one credit card balance too large to pay off in one month, you should make a plan to get them paid off as quickly as possible.
3 Choose a High Interest Savings Account
You may already have an emergency savings account set up, but is that account earning you interest? If not, you might want to consider opening one at a bank that offers a better interest rate. If your bank doesn’t offer high interest savings accounts, shop around and find one that does. There are plenty of online savings accounts you can open that offer high interest rates if you can’t find a bank in your area to work with.
4 Invest
Investing is another great way to make the most of your money. The thing about investing is that most people think you have to have a lot of money to get started investing, but that’s not necessarily the case. Many investing companies these days will allow you to get started with a few hundred dollars.
Once you have that investment account in place, you can contribute to it every time you have extra money. It could be from a bonus at work, a windfall from a family member, or the proceeds from a garage sale you held. Every little bit helps you earn more money in interest over the long-term.
Using these 4 ways to make the most of your money can help you make smart financial decisions that will help you reach your financial destination.
Can you think of other ways to make the most of your money?