When I was younger, something I’d avoid with all of my heart was checking my account balance.
I’d spend and spend until the card didn’t work anymore. My card being declined was the indicator that I had no more money. It was that simple. This went on for about 9months to a year before I got a handle of it.
I’m not sure what it was, but ultimately it was fear. I knew that the funds in my account would always be decreasing and didn’t believe that checking my balance was worth the heartache.
Fast forward to today, I can’t help but constantly check my accounts. I have a good old nose across all of my accounts to keep an eye on my spending, move money around if necessary to do so and be in the know of how much expendable cash I have.
It is essential to be aware of your Account balance at all times to ensure that you don’t go in to an unwarranted overdraft, you have enough money for your upcoming direct debits, you haven’t paid for a service you didn’t receive, you wasn’t overcharged for something and many more.
If managing your essential direct debits and overspending on luxuries is something you find difficult, then break the two up.
I have an account for all of my Direct Debits. I put money in to it every month and I don’t touch it. The role of that account is simply to pay all of my direct debits and standing orders.
My second account is what I call my expenses account, with this I pay for petrol, food shopping, unexpected life woes (house maintenance) etc.
Finally I have my luxury account. This is the account I use for all of my online shopping dreams and desires. I have a budget and once it’s up, no more shopping for me!
This way of working has really helped me to save aggressively and never miss a payment or come up short at the end of the month.
Did you know that most people who have a “missed” or “late” payment as a negative marker on their credit file have no idea that this behaviour is effecting them badly?
Next week we will dive in to this further.
If you have any other tips for someone that doesn’t like to check their Account balance, feel free to leave your comment below.
