Personal Finance 101

 These are some tips on personal finance that helped me live better or were painful lessons to be learned. Hopefully you can use these! 

• Set a budget

"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there." - Lewis CarrollThat is not a positive quote. Set yourself some goals. Set your budget and follow it.It is annoying AF, yes. But if you do this, you will be in control of your life, instead of living “yeah i have enough and i am surviving just fine”- attitude, go to “I know exactly what I am doing and what is going to happen”.Collect receipts, set a day every month to do the books. 

• Put minimum 5% (preferably much more) of what you earn into a savings account.

This is the alpha-omega of everything in life. People are going to die. Accidents will happen. Things will be stolen. Have some money for a rainy day! No matter what you do, you can always put at least something into savings.  If you’re broke AF, put the plastic bottle deposit money into a piggy bank.Put in the change you have in your pocket right now. It might not be a lot, but in the long run it will make a difference, trust me. You don’t need that extra bottle of beer right now anyways… 

• If you have money incoming, NEVER take from the savings, even though you will be able to “pay it back”.

Here is how it works: You have some money coming in in a couple of weeks, but would really like to hit that bar tonight, because that person you like will be there. There’s probably a hundrer bucks in the piggy bank, so taking a little won’t do anything, plus you will put it back when big bucks roll in soon. Right? FUCKING WRONG! If you take money from your savings once, you are doomed to empty that account on useless shit and will be deep in it when you actually need the money for a crisis. NEVER TAKE MONEY FROM SAVINGS. I learned this the hard way and pissed away a whole lot of dough that could have been used for paying debt og marriage expenses. Don’t be that person.  

• Keep your finances private. 

People will try to borrow money, drag you into schemes and make you go to restaurants you cannot afford to be at, if they know you have cash. I am not saying people will deliberately try to abuse you, but if you tend to spend money you do not have, you probably have friends with same problems and that is just double trouble if you’re trying to get your shit in order.If you actually do lend money to someone, prepare to either lose the money or the person.This is some cold-ass shit but trust me, it has been tested by time. 

• Buy shit online

Most things are cheaper online now because grocers buy stuff in bulk and keep them in storage away from shining city lights and high rent prices. Most stuff can be bought cheaper on the internet and should be done so. Sometimes you might need things fast, but companies with a high service level often offer 1-2 days delivery, consider waiting that time and saving money! 

• If you have debt, make sure your interest rate is as low as possible

I have bought an apartment at a rate that was normal at the time and now is outrageously high. When i talked to my advisor (salesman) he denied of being able to lower it. After talking to a couple of banks who definitely could give me a better offer, actually taking over the dbet in full without any expenses, the advisor (salesman) magically and suddenly was able to lower my interest rate to whatever else i had gotten offered at the other place.  

• Love yourself

Saving money does not have to be hard. You should not be eating grain 24/7. If you are really struggling, do not sit at home all the time. Visit free museums, events. Spend less money on shopping and more on experiences. Find a cheap hobby. Do sports if you can. Love your body and your mind will follow. And with a healthy mind it is easier to get a healthy economy to follow. This is it from me for now. Thanks for your time and remember to let me know how I can do it better next time!