While sifting through the blogosphere recently, I came across a very informative post on the financial blog Wise Bread about personal finance habits – both good and bad.
It got me thinking about how using personal checks can really have a major impact on the way we spend and save our money.
Here are three concepts I took from the article:
1. You don’t have to spend it just because you have it:
Sometimes when that paycheck gets deposited in your checking account you’re itching to start spending it. But if we spend money just because we have it we’ll find ourselves throwing it away on unnecessary things.
Start saving. You never know when you’ll need that money you wasted because you had a little extra in your checking account near the end of a pay period.
There are times to take risks and times to be cautious. When it comes to your personal finances, most of your decisions should be on the safe side.
2. Live simply and below your means:
Obviously if your budget shows there are more bills than money at the end of the month – we’ve got a problem. If you’re in this situation it’s time to start looking at making a change.
There’s also something to be said about living simply, even when you don’t have to. As Wise Bread blogger David Ning put it, “If you like simplicity you will simply spend less.”
When I was in college – living in the dorms – I got into a huge fight with my roommate. Fists of fury were flying and nasty words were exchanged.
I ended up breaking into an empty dorm room and living there with just a pillow, sleeping bag, the textbooks I needed and an alarm clock/radio. It was a surprisingly enlightening experience that taught me I could get along alright with a minimal amount of stuff.
Don’t worry – my roommate and I made up and I moved back into our dorm with cable TV, internet, hot pots, mini-fridge and air fresheners (a life of luxury to be sure).
The point here is that sometimes simplifying your life can not only make things less expensive – but more enjoyable as well. Take a close look at how you live and see if there are things you could eliminate that are unimportant or take up too much of your time.
My wife and I got rid of cable TV after we realized most of what we watched was on FREE network television – and we could rent many of our favorite cable TV series on DVD, or even watch them online for no charge!
3. Live happy and love what you do:
Using our income to make us happy is something we all try to do – and it always fails in the end.
We think a new car will satisfy our desires. We think if we buy that treadmill we’ll use it every day until we are thin and happy. We think that more jewelry, a more expensive bottle of wine, or just a bigger account balance is the key – but it’s not.
Money can’t buy you love – or happiness. That’s a truth not just a cliche.
In order to be happy in life you need to find fulfillment. Part of that is being happy with what you’re doing in life. When you love what you do, you’ll do your best at it, and you’ll most likely be successful. Maybe that means you’ll work harder and longer – which means more money in the bank and less time to spend.
When you love your life and have found happiness you won’t be throwing money and material things at that always unsatisfied urge for more…whatever!
How can personal checks help?
Personal checks aren’t a magic trick to help you control your finances. But you’ll find using them is a helpful way to stay on top of things.
We’ve all heard people complain about the person in line at the grocery store who took forever to write out a personal check. But those people may be smarter than you think. They’re writing down that amount instead of shrugging off the total and swiping a debit or credit card. They’re also probably recording what they just spent in a check register.
That’s why using personal checks will always be a good idea. Our society of consumers has become so obsessed with getting what we want right when we want it, that we’ve now found ourselves in some serious financial trouble.
Using personal checks can help get you back on track.
When you order personal checks from Check Advantage – you’re going to get a free Check Register and Deposit Slips so you can start saving instead of just spending.
Plus – this doesn’t have to be a major bummer – we have a variety of cool check designs for you to choose from.
So order personal checks online from Check Advantage and make it your first step towards better management of your personal finances!
Read more about personal finance habits on Wise Bread: Are Your Financial Habits Just Bad?
Image: graur razvan ionut / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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