In your personal life, just like in business, you will have to make thousands of decisions every week. From where to shop to what to do with your career, there are plenty of choices that will impact your long term wealth and financial well being. If you are serious about making your money take you further, it is important that you learn how to make better decisions every day. Below you will find a few areas you should focus on.

Buying or Renting

You have to decide whether or not you are better off taking out a mortgage rather than renting. There are plenty of factors that will influence your decision. If you can’t afford to get a mortgage in the area you want to live in, and a place that is close to your work, you might be better off renting. However, if your credit rating allows, and you can reduce your monthly outgoings by buying a house on a mortgage, you will not only be better off, but also build up your personal assets.

Pension Fund Investments

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It is never too early to take out a pension fund investment account or think about your retirement savings. You need to start early, even if it is only a couple of dollars a week you are putting aside. What will make a difference is the type of funds you choose and the return on your investments. Talk to an independent financial advisor to find out more about the different long term accounts available for you.

Price Comparison

It is important that you take on the habit of regularly comparing the prices of your services. Start with your rent, mortgage, energy, and fuel, and don’t forget about the insurance. Check out cheapautoinsurance.co to see if you can save a couple of dollars a month on your car insurance. Set up an account with major comparison sites and check regularly whether there is a better offer out there for you.  

Renovation vs. Moving

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When your home no longer serves your life and is becoming too small, crowded, or you need more functionality, you might be thinking about moving. However, think about the possible renovation and adaptation options before you up sticks and get moving. Consider the cost of arranging a new mortgage, removal van hire, and everything else, and see if you might be better off making adjustments to your current home. If you have a relatively new mortgage (a few years), you might be also facing negative equity that will make it harder to move.

Career Choices

You might not think about your career and job as a long term investment, but it really is. If you are working in an industry that is likely to be replaced by AI, or the demand is declining, it might be a good idea to look for alternative paths, so you can secure your income and financial future.

Your financial decisions today will make a difference later in life. Carefully consider your options and make sure that you are aware of the risks and benefits before you make your final choice.

We live in a consumer society where we are constantly encouraged to purchase a whole host of goods that we don’t necessarily need. Sure, you might not want to throw all material desire out of the window and live with the absolute basics. But there are various reasons that you might want to consider living a more minimal lifestyle. Perhaps you’re devoted to the planet and can’t stand the detrimental effects that waste has on our planet. Maybe clutter, and junk stresses you out, and you prefer your surrounding to be as plain a canvas as possible. However, one of the most common reasons for embracing minimalism tends to be to reduce overall spending. Here are a few ways to embrace minimalism to reduce your overall outgoings.

Living on a Budget

One of the main reasons that most people end up in debt is down to irresponsible or unwise spending. If you are currently experiencing debt, it means that at some point or another, it is likely that you have exceeded your budget, or simply haven’t had one to start with. Minimalism can counteract this by discouraging excessive and non-essential spending. So, it’s time to get into good habits by creating a realistic budget and sticking to it. This is simple enough. All you need is a notepad, pen and perhaps a calculator. Sit down and note down your total salary after tax. This can be on a monthly or yearly basis. Now, total up the overall cost of your necessary expenses (this can include bills and other essential living costs). The amount that is left is your disposable income. This is how much you should have been living on. Try to avoid exceeding this, or you will end up spending money that is not your own and slip into debt. If you are already in debt, use your disposable income to make payments towards clearing your balance. It may sound counterproductive, but you should consider taking out a debt consolidation for bad credit. This simplifies payments.

Question Every Purchase

Buying goods is simpler than ever. Contactless payments mean that you don’t even have to make the effort to enter your pin in order to make small purchases. Apple pay means that you can buy a whole host of items even if you’ve left your money and cards at home. What’s more? The advent and success of E-commerce have ensured that you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your own home in order to make purchases. You can have pretty anything you could want delivered straight to your door! It’s not surprising, then, that many of us spend out of habit and without putting all too much thought into the majority of our purchases. So, it’s time to start getting picky! Before you buy any item, question your potential purchase. Do you need the item? What purpose will it serve in your life? Will you get extended use out of it? Only buy what’s absolutely essential!

As you can see, living minimally is simple. You can also save a lot of money and stave off the burden of financial debt by living in this way. It’s not surprising that this kind of lifestyle is taking off with such popularity! It’s high time that you try it out yourself.