5 Insane Ways To Manage Money Better

Manage money like a grown-up! Want to know the best money management tips for adults? These are the simple things you can do today to dramatically improve the way you manage money.

As part of adulting, don’t you ever feel like there’s never enough money? No matter how many hours you work, you can’t seem to get ahead? Because there’s always some unexpected bill or charge that comes up.

Wouldn’t you like to break free from living paycheck to paycheck? Or from feeling like you live in a constant feast to famine situation?

Way too often you spend and ignore all those transactions you made over the weekend, and hope and pray you have enough money to get you thru the next paycheck.

I’ve been there too. I would avoid checking my bank account so I didn’t have to deal with the fact that I had barely any money left. I just hated the thought of feeling deprived.

But, I knew I couldn’t keep living like this. So I decided to finally learn how to manage money effectively. And man, have I come a long way? And so can you!

You are going to learn all these key management money skills so you’ll finally learn how to manage money wisely. And no longer live in fear of not having enough.

Here are 5 simple things you can do to manage money better

1. Create your first budget

I know you’ve heard this a million times, but have you tried doing your first budget? It doesn’t have to be complicated at all.

A budget is simply writing down how much money comes in and how much goes out. And figuring out if there’s any left at all.

If you think about it, a budget is just a spending plan. Incoming Income – Outgoing = Budget

Plan out way before you receive your paycheck, how you are going to spend your money. Be intentional. You can always use a “manage money app” free like Mint to help you create your budget.

{CHECK OUT: The 50/30/20 Budget} {CHECK OUT: How to set-up a budget}

2. Don’t spend money you don’t have

In order to manage money wisely, only spend what’s in your checking account. That way you’re not digging yourself into more debt.

You see, when you spend money using credit cards, you seem to spend mindlessly. But when you spend your own money from your checking account, you seem to hold to your money tighter and I bet you’ll think twice before making any purchase.

Think about it: if you can’t pay for something using the money you have in your checking account, that means you can’t afford to buy it now.

Does that mean, you’ll never be able to afford it? No! It just means you’ll have to save up for it.

Have you ever heard of sinking funds? A sinking fund is a saving fund where you save a little bit of money from each paycheck for a specific goal.

For example, if you are wanting to go on vacation. But you don’t have the money yet, you could save a small amount every time you get paid and put it towards that vacation sinking fund.

That way you can still live your life outside of the budget and have fun with your money.

Let’s say that vacation costs at total of $1,200 and you have 12 months to save for it because you’re planning it a year ahead.

Calculate your vacation sinking fund ($1,200 ÷ 12 months = $100). You’d have to save $100 every single month for 12 months to be able to pay for your vacation cash. If you get paid twice a month, that means you can further divide the $100 between both paychecks, so you would only have to save $50 every time you get paid for the next 12 months and pay for your own vacation instead of relying on credit cards.

Since you want to manage your money better, you’ll have to learn to rely on your own money and stop borrowing!

{CHECK OUT: Sinking Funds That Will Make You More In Control of Your Money}

3. Separate your checking account from your savings account

Ok this advice sounds kind of crazy, but I swear it works!

I don’t know about you, but when I had my checking account and savings account together under the same bank institution, I swear I never saved anything!

Even though I would send automatic transfers to fund my savings account, I would somehow transfer it right back to my checking account and spend it.

I don’t know wby it took me so long to figure this out, but I swear it works. Once I separated my checking account from my savings account, I really, really started saving money for the first time.

I trained myself to just rely on the amount that was in the checking account until the next paycheck. And little by little it became a habit.

To manage money better, on payday, I would transfer X amount of money straight out my checking account into my savings and let the money grow there.

This set-it-and-forget it kinda approach, helped me hide money from myself. (Since both accounts are separated in different online bank institutions, it makes it harder for me to see my savings account daily.) So I’m no longer tempted to spend any of it. (Out of sight, out of mind.)

Also, I decided to save my money in a high-yield online savings account, which earns more than a regular bank savings account.

You can manage money better by simply separating your bank accounts. And trust me there are tons of free checking accounts and savings accounts with no minimums.

Oh, and FYI, leaving your checking account with barely any money, forces you to not spend much.

Get it?

This personal money management strategy works! Because you’ve already transferred money into savings before you go crazy spending your money.

And by keeping your checking account low, you have to be more intentional about your purchases, and you’ll have to stick to your budget (because you don’t want your checking account to hit zero).

{CHECK OUT: How to Stick To A Budget in 3 Easy Steps }

4. Read Finance Books And Educate Yourself

Did you know that wealthy and successful people read about 30 minutes a day? They hardly read for entertainment, they read to improve themselves.

On the other hand, broke people spend more time scrolling down on social media. And spend more hours a day watching TV that the wealthy do.

So it basically comes down to habits.

What about you? What kind of habits do you have? The fact that you’re here reading a financial blog, tells me you’re already doing what successful people do.

I bet that you’re different from most broke people. You actually value your time and always focus on improving your life.

So here are a few finance books recommendations that will help you manage money better.

Manage Money Books:

• The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
• I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi
• Clever Girl Finance by Bola Sokumbi

Oh, and get this…

You don’t have to spend any money on purchasing books, most of these books are free at your local library. You can just check them out. They even have some of these books available in E-book or Audible versions, through the library app.

5. Manage money easier using cash envelopes

If you struggle sticking to your budget and you always end up overspending, try using cash envelopes. I know it’s old school, but it works!

Think about it, you can only spend what you physically have. And they are so easy to use and will help you stick to your budget so you can achieve your money goals.

With the cash envelope method, you would literally leave in your checking account the amount of money for your automatic bills. And the rest of your spending you would use cash.

You would first figure out which budget categories you’ll be spending money on. They may be groceries, eating out, fun money, gas, beauty, car maintenance, etc.

After you decide how much you feel comfortable spending on each categories, go to your ATM and withdraw the money. Then divvy up the money in each cash envelope. And start using cash when you make purchases, don’t use your debit card (since that money is already budgeted for your recurring bills).

Try using the cash envelopes for 2 weeks and see how you do. I’m sure you typically get paid every 2 weeks, so why don’t you try switching to using cash next time you get paid?

I’m sure you’ll manage money better with cash because it’s easier to track and it will make you think twice before you spend on something you don’t need.

{CHECK OUT: 5 Smart Ways To Use Cash Envelopes Like a Pro}

This post showed you 5 quick ways you can manage money better.

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