Learning about budgeting, saving and managing your money might not be the most fun that you can have online, but it can make your life easier. Once you have the concepts down, you can automate a lot of these processes. Being smart about your finances also means having more money in the long run. Staying out of debt and learning how to invest can give you peace of mind and financial freedom, and you can get started right now with just your phone, tablet or laptop.
Finding Information
Blogs and podcasts are great ways to learn more about finances. If you need a crash course in Budgeting 101 or getting out of debt, there are sites that can walk you through the steps you need to take. Don’t underestimate the power of social media either. You can learn a lot from following people who write about money and finance or joining groups that talk about how to pay off your credit card bills faster or live debt-free. Before you work your way through the rest of the steps here, just do some research. You’ll get a sense of the different approaches people have to finances and start to understand which ones might work for you. Reducing Your Debt You’ll find plenty of advice online about how to reduce what you owe as well as tools that can help you. You can read about various ways to manage your debt as you work to pay it down, such as paying off high-interest debts with a lower-interest personal loan. You may also want to consolidate your student loans with a private lender. You can choose between a fixed or variable rate with a private lender and potentially pay less in interest, reducing your monthly expenses. Even if the interest rate is similar, you may still save money with a lower payment, and you won’t have to worry about penalties from missing multiple due dates within a single month.
Making Your Budget
Gone are the days of budgeting with pen and paper and cash or even with spreadsheets although you can certainly still use those methods if they work for you. However, these days, apps can do a lot of the heavy lifting for you, helping you track your spending and even letting you know when you’re getting to the limits you’ve set on certain categories. A variety of different features and focuses are available, so shop around to find the one that does everything you need.
Investing
The internet has revolutionized investing. What was once available only to people who had access to in-person brokers and the money to pay them is now accessible to anyone who can download an app and has even $100 to invest. You can get started with a robo-advisor to pick investments for you, or you can set up a brokerage account on your own and handpick the investments you’d like to make. There is also plenty of advice online from forums and social media although you should pick and choose who you listen to carefully. Anyone can open a social media account and start making stock predictions, but the savviest investors know when to take these with a grain of salt.
