Private Money411 Magazine - The Source for Real Estate Finance PRIVATE MONEY411 - BAMF | Page 39
The Only 2 Ways
To Improve
Your Finances
By Fuquan Bilal
T
here are only two ways to improve your
financial situation and future.
There are all types of get rich quick hacks out there
today. The bottom line though, is that there are really
only two ways to fix and better the dynamics of your
money situation.
1. Lower Your Expenses
If you don’t have the surplus cash you want each
month, then the first step is to lower your expenses. If
you aren’t making the bills on time, you just wish you
could afford to travel
more, or don’t have
enough left over to enjoy
those small treats for
your family after you’ve
taken money off of the
top of your paycheck to
save for retirement or to
give to charity, then
maybe your bills are just
too high.
Ideally your housing
expenses won’t take up
more than 30% of your
monthly income. It’s
even better if you can
keep that under 25% to
create a cushion against
rising costs. Then if you
can keep all of your other expenses under 25% of your
monthly income, you’ll have 25% you can save, invest
and use to increase your real net worth.
Maybe you can save by going down to one vehicle,
refinancing a car or home, paying off high rate cards,
getting rid of an expensive phone plan or leased phone,
or replacing an expensive and unhealthy habit with a
better one.
Of course, some people are doing really well when it
comes to lowering their expenses and yet still seem to
be broke. You can really only cut your bills so much.
You probably still need a house to live in, need to eat,
need internet, and if you have a spouse or family they
are going to need some ‘basics’ to keep them happy.
It’s important to remember that you’ll always have
bills. Even if you buy a lot in the woods, build your
own tiny house by hand, dig your own well, run on
solar, and grow most of your own food, you’ll still have
bills. You’ll still at least have taxes and property taxes,
medical bills, and more. A lot of people aren’t going to
find such a minimalistic lifestyle sustainable for the
long term either. We are human after all. Refusing to
use any financial leverage or have any expenses can
limit your ability to grow your finances as well. Zero
leverage can also mean being exposed to even greater
financial risks.
Do as well as you can in this area, but at some point
you’ll also have to do this...
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