How to Improve Your Finances Today in 3 Easy Steps

Quick Ways to Keep More Money in Your Pocket

We’re living in uncertain times. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring, financially or otherwise.

In this environment, dealing with your finances can seem overwhelming, but it’s important to make a start today, even if it’s just a small start.

Here are just three small steps you can take today to improve your finances.

1. Cancel One Subscription

I’m willing to bet you have at least one subscription that you don’t use or have forgotten about. It might be a gym membership, a subscription to a streaming service you hardly use, or a subscription to a magazine you’ve lost interest in.

Look through your bank statement or PayPal statement and find just one subscription that you don’t need anymore. Cancel that subscription straight away.

That way, you’ll free up a certain amount of cash each month that you can use toward paying off debt or building up your savings (see below).

2. Budget for Just One Thing

It can feel overwhelming to set up a budget for every area of your spending. You’d need several hours to look at your bank account(s), categorize your areas of spending, and decide how much to allocate to each area.

It’s not surprising that there always seems to be something more entertaining to do with your time!

Having said that, budgeting is important. So, if you don’t already have a budget, start small by thinking of one major area of spending you have each month. Grocery shopping is a good area to focus on — we all need to buy groceries regularly.

Take a quick look through your bank statement and note down every amount you spent on groceries in the past month. When you have the total, decide whether that will be your monthly budget for food shopping, or whether you’ll adjust it upwards or downwards.

If you want to skip this first step, just decide how much you’d like to spend on groceries each month.

Then, write that amount down.

The easiest way to stick to a food budget is to go grocery shopping once a week with a certain amount of spending in mind: one quarter of your monthly food budget or less.

If you do most of your grocery shopping in 1–4 shopping trips per month, it will be easier to keep to your budget than if you shop for small amounts of food on most days. It’ll also be easier to keep track of your spending.

So, when you go into the grocery store, have your maximum budgeted amount in your mind As you go through the door, promise yourself you won’t exceed that amount.

Add up as you go along, either using a calculator or in your head.

If you do go over your budgeted amount, pause before paying. Look at everything in your shopping cart and take out a few items that you don’t 100% need. I guarantee you’ll always be able to do this, even on the tightest of budgets!

When you get home, write down the amount spent and subtract it from your total budget for the month. Some weeks you’ll spend slightly more and other weeks slightly less, but it should even out over the month.

Don’t worry if you do go slightly over-budget in some months, but if you do it every month, decide whether it’s time to adjust your food budget, either by finding ways to save money on the food you need or increasing your budget if you really do need the extra food.

Once you’ve got a handle on managing your food budget, it’ll give you confidence to go onto budgeting in other areas of your life.

So, start budgeting today, and start small.

3. Open a Savings Account

Open a savings account today, even if you already have one or more savings accounts. Why? To give yourself a new start with saving.

First, decide what you will save for. This could be:

• An emergency fund — to cover future unexpected expenses — your grandparents called this ‘saving for a rainy day’.
• Saving for your long-term future — for retirement, financial freedom at some point in the future, or a “gap year” to explore the world, whatever your age.
• Saving for a well-deserved vacation — if you never seem to be able to afford a vacation or if you always pay for it with your credit card, use your new savings account for this purpose.

There are many other reasons to save, too. If you’re unsure, ask yourself, ‘What do I need to save for?’ Usually the first answer that pops into your head is the correct one!

So, search for the savings account with the best interest rate available and open it today.

Once you’ve opened this savings account, commit yourself to saving money in it regularly and not withdrawing any money until you’ve reached your goal.

Set an annual goal for the balance of this savings account. Then, divide that into weekly, fortnightly or monthly payments, whichever suits you best.

Once you’ve decided how much and how often you’ll pay into this account, write it down. It’s important to write your intention down, because it formalizes your commitment to saving regularly.

Be flexible, though. If, for some reason, you can’t make a payment into your savings account one week or one month, don’t give up. Just continue saving the next week or month.

Also, consider reducing the regular amount you pay into this account if you’re finding it difficult to pay into it every month.

It’s better to save little and often than to set yourself big goals that you find difficult or impossible to achieve. Even if you start with just $1 a week or $5 a month, that is good enough.

You’ll Feel Better after Taking These Small Steps

Once you’ve taken these three small steps, you’ll feel better about your finances and more optimistic about the future. It’s very likely that you’ll also be inspired to take further steps toward improving your financial situation.

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