This is information – not financial advice or recommendation

Many people are struggling financially right now due to the cost of living crisis. Financial struggles can make daily life challenging, cause a great deal of stress, and impact your future. The good news is that there are always positive steps you can take to avoid financial struggles. Here are a few of the best steps to take.

Create & stick to a budget

People often find themselves in financial trouble because they do not control their spending with a budget. Totalling your household income and then dedicating a percentage of this to different spending categories will help you avoid overspending each month. The key is to make the budget realistic so that you can stick to it each month.

Build an emergency fund

Having an emergency fund can make a huge difference to your financial situation and life. An emergency fund with 3-6 months’ worth of expenses will ensure that you are able to handle any problems that arise, such as a job loss or unexpected cost. Not only this, but an emergency fund can also provide peace of mind, knowing that you have the money if needed - you cannot put a price on the reassurance that this can provide!

Managing & reducing debt

Debt has the nasty habit of following you around like a storm cloud. It can be very difficult to improve your standard of living and build for the future when you have debt obligations, so you need a strategy to manage and reduce your debt. If you have multiple debts, you can combine these with debt consolidation loans - this will make it a lot easier to manage each month and help to reduce stress.

Invest for the future

It can be hard when you are so focused on the present, but you should always plan ahead for the future and the earlier that you start doing this the better as your money can compound and grow over time. You should try and invest some money each month for the future - this could be a high-interest savings account, S&S ISA, or stocks.

Educate yourself on financial matters

Many people also slip into financial difficulty because they do not know about managing personal finances as it is not taught in schools. Fortunately, the internet is a goldmine for this so it is easy to teach yourself about key areas like budgeting, mortgages, debt management, investing, pensions, and other areas.

Financial struggles can impact all areas of life and cause a great deal of stress. While financial troubles are common, you should know that there are always positive steps you can take to improve your situation. These are a few of the best areas that should improve your financial situation and help you build towards a brighter future.

This is information – not financial advice or recommendation

The content and materials featured or linked to are for your information and education only and are not attended to address your particular personal requirements.

The information does not constitute financial advice or recommendation and should not be considered as such. We are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), it’s authors are not financial advisors and it is therefore not authorised to offer financial advice.

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