How To Stop Comparing To Live A Happier Life

How To Stop Comparing To Live A Happier Life

Many people are doing way too much comparing and complaining about their lot in life and not stopping to see the gifts and blessings they really have.

As I share with people often, there is someone doing it tougher than you that would kill to have the life you’re living and not the one they’re currently experiencing themselves.

Why do you feel the need to compare whether someone appears to be doing better than you or has a better life than you?

Unless you’re walking in their shoes you don’t have a clue what’s going on behind closed doors.

I know too often that on the surface things appear for some to be looking really good, but underneath the murky waters, they’re experiencing pain and what we see is really not what’s being reflected.

Often it’s not money issues that are causing them the problem, it’s the way they feel about themselves that’s causing challenges in either their work, relationships or even with their health.

What really makes you happy?

Have you ever just stopped and thought about this?

Most wouldn’t have a clue about what makes them happy, because they’re too busy sticking their noses in other peoples business.

Give yourself the luxury of finding out what makes you happy. 

What puts a smile on your face and what would make you want to jump out of bed in the morning instead of hitting the snooze button?

Time is going by so fast.  I can’t stress that enough.  

Just think back to the last 12 months how quickly that has that flown by.  Think back to even last month how fast that’s gone.

Ok so I want you to stop and take a moment to imagine you are turning 80 years of age tomorrow.   

Come on really imagine how you would look – grey hair, no grey hair or no hair at all.  A little bit more wrinkly now and possibly some of your body parts are heading more south than you would like.  Yeah, guys, this doesn’t just apply to us girls.  Some of you guys have what was once called pectorals or pecks that are now considered “man boobs” and they’re heading south too.

Ok so getting back to imagining you are 80 years of age and you now have between 8 – 10 years left on this earth.  8 – 10 years to spend doing whatever you choose and with whom ever you choose. 

How would you decide to spend the next 8 or so years of the remaining time of your life?

Let’s just say you’re still in reasonably good health.

Would you still be comparing or complaining, or would you just go and enjoy every moment and live the remaining years of your life, making sure they are the best years you’ve ever had? 

Would you be worried about making a fool of yourself, or fearful of what others would think of you?  I somehow think you wouldn’t and would care less about what people think or do.

So what are you waiting for? 

Live your life like that now.  Enjoy your time while you are here on earth and do what makes you truly happy inside.

If you knew that life was going to be shorter than expected….I bet you would be looking at life in a whole different way.

You would stop concerning yourself about whether this person texted you back, whether this person is gossiping about you, whether this person likes you and so on.

When you stop and appreciate all that you have in your life right here right now – you become happier and grateful that you’ve got it better than you thought.

I often remind my daughter that we live in one of the best counties in the world.  We have an abundance of food, sunshine and freedom.

We are able to go outside without the fear of a bomb hitting us.  We can go outside and see how green the grass is, how tall the trees are growing, how free birds fly and chirp around us.  How we can go to the supermarket and get every conceivable food or beverage we choose.

We have a choice.

You have a choice to live your life the way you want.

For most of us we were born with free will but the sad part is that a lot of us are choosing to be victims – trapped in our own head by our own thoughts. 

Every choice you make will either enhance your spirit and self worth or drain it.

When you’re not happy living the life you so desire you’re actually betraying yourself.  And it’s no wonder you bitch and complain and pick holes in other people.  It’s why you’re so quick and easy to bring other people down.

Because you’re not happy and you’re letting yourself down – nobody else.  

We all have free will.

We all have choices that we can make about the kind of life we want to live.

One with misery or one with absolute joy.

Are you making everyday choices that are harming you?

I believe we create the path we choose to live.  Some of us have decided to start living with more joy and love in our heart.

The worst betrayal by not living this way is to yourself!

What I’ve observed is that it’s not until someone reaches that certain age in life that they start to question their existence.  They question the choices they’ve made.  They question the things they did or didn’t do.

The power of choice!

The most powerful choice you make in life is not the house you buy, how many children you have, the partner you choose or don’t choose or what type of work you do.

The most powerful choice of all is the life you choose to live.  How you treat your mind, how you treat your health and how you treat other people.  These to me are the most powerful choices you can make in your every day life.

Why, because it determines the kind of life you live and how truly happy you are and this determines the quality of your life and your health.

If you choose to live a life of misery, always comparing or gossiping about other people – you are living a very short and limited life.

So do yourself a favour and stop comparing or complaining about your lot in life and look around to discover how good you have it compared to other people.

Learn to be gracious and grateful for the wonderful gifts you have in your life whether it’s your health, your relationships, your family, your work or the very place you’re fortunate to live in.

When you’re grateful, you become a happier and healthier person.

If you’re looking to discover how you can become happier and compare less then I have a worksheet that can assist you in living a happier life.  Download your worksheet HERE

If you’re looking for more support and assistance then there are a couple ways for you to stay in touch.

1 Leave me a comment here;

2 Head over to my FB group where you can access more financial and emotional support at Official Karen G 

3 Check out more resources and learning at THE LEARNING HUB 

Look forward to hearing from you soon.

In the meantime, here’s to your financial health, wealth and happiness.

How To Pay Your Mortgage Off in 5 Easy Steps

How To Pay Your Mortgage Off in 5 Easy Steps

This blog is dedicated to my mentor and serial entrepreneur Mr Harry Bozin, who has taught me everything I know about paying down the biggest debt one will ever have THE MORTGAGE and in the quickest way possible. 

Whenever I share anything about how to pay your mortgage down as quickly as possible, take note and put into action the strategies and tips I share that truly work.

So, one of the major purchases individuals and couples in their lifetime take on, is when they decide to put a deposit down to buy their very own piece of paradise.

Having a mortgage is one of the biggest debts most people embark on when owning a home.

It can be one of the most stressful and worrying times in their life, often concerned how they’ll make the monthly mortgage repayments when unexpected events come up.

What a lot of people aren’t aware of when borrowing the money to buy their home, is the overall cost for paying down this debt if they don’t pay it down as quickly as possible.

Because the first 10 years of the term of the loan whether it be a 25 or 30 year loan, is paid in interest payments to their banking institution.  During this time there isn’t a lot of principal paid off (the original amount borrowed) as most of it goes to paying interest payments, unless the new home owner is consciously paying extra into their home loan.

Do you know what the total cost of your mortgage is if you do not pay it down well before the end of the term of the loan? 

Well, I do and it may shock you to know that on a 25 year home loan borrowing an amount of say $350,000 not paid before the 25 year mark, will end up seeing you pay an additional $236,624 for the privilege of having a home loan. 

Now that’s $236,624 better in your pocket earning you money, not the banks.

Let’s look at some rough numbers on how you could grow this money of $236,624 where it would compound over the next 15 years (because that’s the time period you saved on your mortgage by paying it down in 10 years).

You could put an additional $263,529 into your pocket seeing you at the end of 15 years your initial $236,624 growing to an enormous amount of $500,153.

Now that’s how having your money work for you and not your banking institutions benefit!

So what are some of the ways you can pay this debt down as quickly as possible and be mortgage free in 10 year or less?

There are 5 steps to becoming mortgage free faster and they are:

1 SET YOUR GOAL

It’s sounds crazy for some people to set a goal for this given they generally feel overwhelmed at the amount of money to be paid back, but it can be done.

This goal is just like any other you would set.  

Let’s say for example that you have a $350,000 mortgage and would like to pay this off around the 10 year mark not 25 years as per the term of your loan agreement. 

Then what you would do is look at ways you could do this by looking at your spending habits and talking to your mortgage specialist to find out whether your home loan is one that will enable you to pay it down without any penalties. 

2 GET A COACH

There are two coaches you will need to ensure you stay on track and on target of paying your mortgage down within 10 years and the first is a financial coach like me.

  • A FINANCIAL COACH is critical to keeping you focussed on your goal and guide you in making sure you’re staying on track to paying your home loan goal down in the 10 year time frame you’ve set.

The goal of the financial coach is to ensure that every bit of extra money you have, goes towards paying this debt down as fast as possible.

A financial coach is not only there for financial encouragement, but is also there for your emotional wellbeing, when at times you may feel overwhelmed and stray off course thinking you’re never going to pay this down.

  • The second coach is A MORTGAGE COACH.  Now the major benefit of a mortgage coach is to ensure that you have the most effective home loan for you that’s working in meeting your goal of becoming debt-free in 10 years or less. 

A good mortgage coach would meet with you once or twice a year to ensure that your loan meets your current life circumstances, because as we know home loans change. 

A mortgage coach will be able to advise whether you are best taking advantages of lower interest rates and whether you could fix that interest rate to maximise your debt reduction strategy.

3 LEARN HOW AND WHAT YOU CAN DO TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOAL OF BECOMING DEBT-FREE SOONER.

There are many strategies about how to pay your home loan down faster and I’m afraid to say that it’s not in the banking institutions’ best interests to share with you how to pay your debt down faster.  

Why, because they have forecasted what they are going to do with your extra repayments right up to the 25-year mark.  So you see they want you to keep paying so they can use your hard-earned money on other investment opportunities to help grow shareholder dividend returns.  

This is why working with both your financial coach and mortgage coach will see you taking advantage of strategies that you may not be aware of yet.

4 CREATE A PLAN AND STICK TO IT!

With anything in life, when you have a plan and stick to it, you have a better chance of achieving what you’ve set out.

This is where your financial coach can help create a plan that meets your requirements and lifestyle.  You see we all have different priorities in life so the plan needs to be tailored to suit our own circumstances.

5 TAKE ACTION. DO WHAT OTHERS WON’T DO AND YOU WILL SEE THE BENEFITS OF BECOMING DEBT FREE SOONER.

One of the best ways to become mortgage free is do what others aren’t prepared to do.

So often we follow the herd mentality and that sees us continuing to be poor and broke.

It’s about stepping out of our comfort zone for a short period of time while the adjustments are being made and then reaping the benefits long term.

When someone has the courage to step out and become their own person and do the things others aren’t prepared to do, then they soon become the ones who are debt free, happier and living life the way they’ve always dreamed.

So let’s recap what it may costing you by not getting a coach.

Firstly, you’ve seen that you are paying out good money that you’ve worked long and hard to the banking institutions for longer than you need to.

And secondly, your hard-earned money could be working for you and not your banks, as you’ve seen in the illustration above on the benefits of compound interest, making you richer not them.

Also, you’ve read about the benefits of getting yourself both a financial and mortgage coach and this enables you to become mortgage-free sooner

** As your financial coach, I’m one that works with you regularly to help you stay focussed and on track to achieving your financial goals.  As your coach, I am also here to ensure that when life suddenly throws you a curveball as it often does – you have the tools and resources necessary to stay motivated and on track.

** The mortgage coach is the one that ensures your home loan is structured and set up correctly.  Utilising the latest strategies available to maximise the full debt reduction potential.  The mortgage coach’s responsibility is to ensure they are working with you to understand your home loan so you can work towards paying it down as quickly as possible.

NEXT STEPS:

  • Financial Coach – get in touch with me today to see how I can show you how to pay your mortgage down in half the time while supporting you in achieving your financial goals sooner.

Contact me at karen@financialmanagement101.com and let’s talk today.

  • Call Harry Bozin. Mortgage Coach & Specialist to see if you have the right home loan to ensure your mortgage is paid off sooner. 

Contact Harry at harry@mortgageperth.com and check more info at mortgageperth.com get in touch with him.

  • Take the 5-day challenge, wherein one of the days I share with you the strategy of paying down your home loan in 10 years or less.

5 Day Challenge

Looking forward to working with you and helping you become mortgage free.

Here’s to your financial health, wealth and happiness.

Morning Routine

Morning Routine

Is There A Perfect Way To Start Our Day?

For a while now I’ve been fascinated with the mirage of advice and sharing on what the best morning routine is, whether you’re out working a job or working from home.

Today while I was getting ready for the start of my day, I was reflecting on how does a morning routine really affect whether we have a productive, happy day or not?

I wanted to do some research into this trend on talking about our morning routine and see if there is any truth to the benefits of having one.

You see the majority of us have a morning routine whether we like it or not. 

We all get up to start our day, shower (well some do), brush our teeth, hair and get dressed before heading to the kitchen to either eat breakfast or start our day off with our favourite beverage either coffee, tea, smoothy or whatever takes our fancy.   Most of this is done all before heading out the door or to our desk to start our working day.

But I want to find out more about the “morning routine” that I hear the high achievers do at the beginning of their day. 

First, let me share with you the common one that I’ve read time and time again and it goes something like this….

  1. Plan out your morning the night before.
  2. Set your alarm to wake up earlier.
  3. Drink a glass of water upon waking
  4. Move and exercise your body first thing when you get up.
  5. Stay off tech and your devices for the first hour upon waking.
  6. Before heading to work or your desk – spend time journalling and writing down your intentions for the day / week.

This is the usual take on what a morning routine looks like according to experts.

Continuing on with my research these are the top 5 searches on google that people are asking on this very subject:

  1. What should my morning routine be?
  2. What you should do every morning?
  3. What should be your daily routine?
  4. What is the first thing you do every morning?
  5. What is the miracle morning routine?

Why are we so fascinated with ensuring we have ourselves a top notch morning routine?

Well, what I found out in reading loads of articles and researching the various books available on Amazon it’s really very simple.

It’s all about being organised to the point that you know what your major objective or project is that you want to achieve for the day and week ahead.

And it’s all about making the time without delay and interruptions to completing the designated tasks or projects.

Because at the end of the day we all want to feel like we’ve achieved and completed what we’ve set out to do.

This sounds great, but that’s easier said than done.

Something gets in the way of us achieving what we want to do and that is procrastination.

Procrastination is one of the biggest self sabotages in our life.  People often procrastinate because they’re afraid of failing at the tasks that they need to complete.  

This fear of failure can promote procrastination in various ways, such as by causing people to avoid finishing or even starting the task in the first place.

So one way to combat this is to plan the night before what you want to achieve for the next day.  

This already sets out the intention on what you are going to do once you’re ready to start your day and saves valuable time, when you get to your desk or work place.

I believe that this is one area that when I plan out exactly what I’m going to do the night before, I just get in without delay and waste no time at all getting on with what I’ve set out to do for the day.

I also find that at the beginning of the week I already know what I can expect to achieve for the rest of that week.

What I have noticed that the times I haven’t done this I’ve wasted many a good day and week achieving “bugger all”, which is super frustrating and annoying especially when you have an expectation of getting things done on your list.

Next what I find is that when I adopt a healthy attitude towards food and moving my body I achieve way more in my day.  

I’m not talking about heading to the gym for an hour long session here I’m talking about being aware that your body needs to stretch first thing in the morning to wake it up and I’m talking about being aware of what you put in your mouth all day long.

Because I don’t know about you, but what I’ve found is that when I eat healthier and make healthy food choices, I feel better mentally and physically.

Now as for writing down in a journal your intentions and gratitude for the day.

I have mixed feelings about this.

Firstly, sometimes I forget to write in my journal first thing in the morning because I have so many other things to get sorted being a working Mum.

So for me, what I find more valuable is writing in my journal at night.

I generally grab my journal and write down the kind of day I’ve had whether good or bad and I also write down how I’m feeling.

What I find by doing it a night I allow myself to get out of my head some of the things that may have been bothering me.  It also allows me to write down what I’ve thankful and grateful for.

So do I agree with what the experts say you should do upon waking – yep most of it but I feel we all need to adopt what works for us in the morning and whether that’s getting up early, stretching or writing in a journal that’s completely up to you.

I do feel that deciding what you want to do or achieve the following day is best to do that the night before as it not only saves time but gives you a clear direction on how to start your day.

At the end of the day just do what works for you and makes you feel good.

So whether you adopt some of the rituals that I’ve shared above or come up with your own morning routine and habits, either way it’s about just getting on with the job at hand and making sure you have a good day.

If you’d like more support and help to achieve more in your day then why not head over to my MONTHLY COACHING program where you will feel supported and loved during your financial and emotional journey.

Look forward to seeing you there.

In the meantime, here’s to your health, wealth and happiness.

Financial Survival Guide During COVID-19

Financial Survival Guide During COVID-19

If you’ve recently lost your job or you feel you’re about to, here are some things you can do right now to make sure you survive during the uncertain weeks or months ahead.

Okay so you need cash and you need to earn it fast.

There are 3 basic things you need to make sure you have secured during this rough uncertain and unpredictable time and that is:

  1. Make sure you have food on the table for you and your family.
  2. You have shelter.  A roof over your head to weather out this nasty health disaster.
  3. Protect your mental health and wellbeing.

Here are 5 ways to make sure you’re going to survive;

1If you have a mortgage broker now is the time to make contact with them if they haven’t already got in touch with you to discuss your home loan options.

If you feel you don’t have someone who you can trust in this area then I’ll drop you the name of a broker who is loyal, trustworthy and has the homeowner’s best interests at the forefront.  

A point to note is that I don’t have any affiliation with this company, nor do I receive any kickbacks.  I’ve just known them for a very long time and they’ve shared many tips with me to help my clients pay down their home loan debt as fast as possible, all without any strings attached.

2 If you’re not comfortable talking with a mortgage broker then get on the phone with your bank or lending institution and negotiate a deal that sees you freezing your monthly mortgage payments for the next couple of months.

What the bank will do in most cases is hold of taking payments for a short period of time, or they may even negotiate with you just paying interest-only payments.  

Once this storm has passed, they will get you making small additional payments on top of your regular mortgage payments, once things go back to the “new normal” and you’re earning an income again.

3 Get in touch with your credit card provider and see what they can do for you to hold off making any monthly credit card payments.  There may be something they can do to stop the cash bleed going towards paying your debts while your cash is in short supply.

4 If you’re renting then get on the phone and talk to your landlord to see what they will do to help take the strain of worrying about how you can afford to keep the roof over your head.

Most cases they are going to be in the same situation, worried that if you move out how will they afford to keep up their ongoing mortgage commitments on the property you’re living in.  It’ll be up to them to negotiate with the bank to see what they can do on the other side to hold off future mortgage payments until things become a little more financial.

5 Now you’ve made contact with your bank or lending institution, next you have to see where you can find some cash or get some part-time work to make sure you survive during this traumatic time.

With the coronavirus pandemic impacting almost every business, some entrepreneurs are thriving and looking at ways to support their employees during this difficult time.

There are some industries that are still hiring and in fact looking to increase their staffing requirements because they’re in areas where they are in high demand during this time.

  • Supermarkets are one example as soon as they stack the shelves they are empty again.  Some of the areas they are hiring and looking for are packers, bakers, customer service staff – check your supermarket’s website to see what they need.
  • Fast food deliveries have seen an increase in demand due to self isolation requirements and companies like Uber eats have seen an increase where they are looking for more drivers.
  • There’s a job board I discovered this week called Jora which is an Australian based search engine for jobs.  Unlike traditional job boards, individuals can search through thousands of career opportunities, all sourced from many job sites from around Australia. 

They list updates every 24 hours with new job opportunities.  The site even breaks it down into job type, salary, location and job titles.  Go check out it.

Here’s the link to Jora Australia just click on it and see if there’s something for you.

Other ways to get extra cash is;

  • You could look around the house to see what’s cluttering your home that you could sell online.
  • Or if you’re crafty and creative, how about sell your stuff online at sites like Etsy.
  • What about if you’re a cafe owner who a person who can bake. Why not teach someone how to decorate cupcakes, or another favourite baking item of yours and get paid for it by setting up a class online. People are basically in isolation looking for new creative ways to fill in their time.
  • You could also look to partaking in online surveys or focus groups and get paid to give your opinion.
  • Another is to sell your expertise online, whether you’re a tutor, teacher or have an expertise that you could share or teach online and get paid for it.
  • Why not look at some freelance work at sites like Fiverr, Upwork, Craigslist to name a few.  Check out these sites as there may be something you’re good at and get paid for.
  • Affiliate marketing is another way, if you have a blog or website, you could get paid for advertising someone’s business on your site. 

6 Okay next look to see where you can cut all unnecessary costs. 

Go through your bank statement and see what you’re spending your money on.

What subscriptions do you have that you can go without for a while that will save you any money big or small?

I recently did this exercise as I often have things I’ve subscribed to that I don’t use any more.  So because I hate giving good money away, I cut about 4 subscriptions and put $80 back in my pocket per month.  

One of these was to suspend my audible account for the next 90 days as I have enough books in my library to keep me going for a year.

It may not sound like much but saving $50 or $100 will make the difference when you need to put food on the table or keep the roof over your head.

If you’ve got an iPhone go through the settings tab on your phone and check out your apple account to see what subscriptions have slipped through the cracks. 

Gym membership is a big one at the moment because you can’t go out so why not suspend or cancel it if you can.

What streaming providers do you need? Do you need everyone that’s on offer at the moment like Foxtel, Netflix, Stan, Disney or even Amazon Prime to name the ones off the top of my head?

Maybe decide on one or two and cancel the rest.  Wherever you can save a few dollars do it.

You’ve got to be ruthless and tough.  Just as I am sitting here writing this our daughter came in wanting to buy an online game for her iPad.

It may have been only $5 and she said I’ll use my own money.  That’s fine but as I said to her do you really need it right now and why not see if you can save that money for a bit longer to can go without for the next month before you decide to shell out your pocket money.

If we can teach our kids now the importance of saving, when a time like this comes up in THEIR working life, they’ll have the skills to knuckle down and not spend on non-essentials.  

Now is the time to teach your kids about the value of money and how looking after the cents will amount to huge amounts of dollars later in life.

Look at what you’re spending your money on and see where you can cut down on things.

Sadly, most don’t have 6 – 8 months worth of emergency money so look at ways to get some dollars in the door fast.

You’ll need to make sure you have about 90 days worth of money to see you through.

Your job right now is to get a job if you’re not working and bring in some money to take the pressure off.

This will help keep your spirits high and look after your mental well being and health.

There is nothing more stressful than financial worry and pressure, so do what you can and see if any one of the suggestions I’ve offered above helps you out.

If you need emotional support or looking for more information on how to take the financial pressure off, then join my FB Group where I will be here for anyone needing an ear, as well as, sharing more tips and information.

I look forward to hearing from you.

In the meantime stay safe and healthy.

Reference: Mortgage Broker – Harry Bozin CLICK HERE for more info.

Year In Review – What I’ve learned this past 12 months

Year In Review – What I’ve learned this past 12 months

As I start the year off preparing for what I plan to achieve and share with you this coming year, I came across an article I wrote 2 years ago but never published.

I thought back and wondered why I wrote these inspirational thoughts?

On reflection, it was because at that time my Dad lost 3 of his brothers (my uncles) and his best mate all in the same year and who were all in their 70’s.

I also realised that last year I wrote a ton of stuff whether it be educational or inspirational but sadly never shared it with you my reader.

So today is the day that I promise to share more financial and mindset content that in the hope helps and benefits people in my community.

Here’s what I’ve learned these past 12 months:

1. Random acts of kindness are rare today.  When you do something nice for someone without expecting anything in return, you may have just brightened up their day without knowing it.

2. If someone is unkind to you unless you’ve done something terribly horrible to them – it’s not about you – it’s about them and the challenges they may be facing behind the scenes.

3. Don’t judge anybody or any situation – you never know what someone is going through.  Just because they put on a brave and smiling face, it doesn’t mean they are having a good time at life!

4. True friends are the ones that after months of not seeing them – don’t get upset or offended but greet you as if they just saw you the other day.

5. If people don’t acknowledge you – it’s ok. They may not have seen you like you think they have or if they have – possibly have a lot on their mind.

6. Money may not grow on trees – however if you work not only hard but smart – you will be growing your own tree that will look after you for many years to come.

7. Treasure the loved ones in your life – as you never know how long they will be here for.

8. When you look at exercise in a different way, other than to lose weight – amazing transformations happen – not only physically but your mind becomes super fit and sharp.  Now that’s a bonus worth exercising for!

9. Love where you live – no matter on the size of your house or location.  When you really love where you live – happiness appears from the corners of each room.

And, stop and smell the roses – I mean REALLY stop and smell the roses and get out in nature.  It’s God and the Universe’s way of showing you all the beauty that surrounds you daily! 

So while I wrote this 2 years ago, it still rings true for me today and has become even more important for me to follow the steps to achieve more happiness and fun in my life.

What have you learned over the past 12 months that you’ve decided you don’t want anymore and long to bring more of this year?

Leave me a comment below as I’d love to hear.

So until next time, wishing you more health, wealth and happiness this year.

Let’s Chat About Your Credit Card

Let’s Chat About Your Credit Card

With Christmas and the holidays just around the corner, it’s important to understand how to use your credit card wisely.

For some, the best way to use it is to not use it all.

Especially for a lot of you who get yourselves in financial trouble because you spend more than you earn.

Understanding how your card works is key to managing it effectively.

Some have up to a 55 day interest-free period. Which means from day 1 of your credit card cycle you could have 55 days of so-called free money & spending without costing you a cent.

This is where some of you may get into trouble because when your statement arrives you’ve realised you’ve overspent and have no way of paying the amount racked up back to the zero balance.

So here’s where the bank loves you because now they’re going to slog you anywhere from 19 – 22% interest.

Here are 6 tips that will make you more mindful for when using your credit card:

1. Keep track of your spending.  If you’re not good at this then go get yourself a visa debit card which uses your money not the banks and stops you getting into financial trouble.

2. Pay your card on time.  This may seem obvious but for a lot of people they forget to pay the balance or minimum payment by the due date and this ends up costing them more.  This is where the bank slogs you around $15 for not paying on time.

3. Pay off your outstanding balance as quickly as possible.  Banks love when you don’t pay the balance owing in full off because they can then start charging you interest on the amount racked up anywhere from 19 – 22%. 

By getting into the habit of sweeping off what you’ve spent on your credit card every month – will save you thousands of dollars.  You see every year you don’t pay off your balance sees you going further into debt. 

For example; here’s a really frightening statistic that I got one client to read on the back of their credit card statement to shock them into how NOT paying the balance off in full is costing them.  In this example, the balance owed was $5000 and the client was paying just the minimum monthly repayment around $95.  This client if they didn’t get their butt into gear and pay the card off in full they would be paying it off in 72 years and owing over $25k in interest charges!

4. Check your statement monthly to make ensure there are no transactions that you didn’t authorise.  Today there is too much internet fraud with online purchasing that starts with a $5 or $10 amount then next you know someone has swiped you for a couple of thousand dollars.  This is how they do it small and slowly and go unsuspecting.  So check your card statement regularly to ensure there are no unsuspecting amounts on there.

5. If you’re buying on the internet be aware of a fee called the “foreign transaction fee” which is a fee that occurs when you buy something from the internet and it’s in a different currency like US because your bank will convert this cost back into your currency for example; Aussie dollars and you’ll be slogged a foreign transaction fee. 

This doesn’t seem like a lot but today the trend is to buy online and these amounts add up if they’re not in your country’s currency.  So an option to get around this is to look at a credit card that has “no foreign transaction fees” attached to the card.  For me, a lot of the monthly operating expenses in my business are from the US and because of this, I have a credit card that doesn’t charge the additional foreign transaction fee which saves me hundreds of dollars per month.  Look at your bank or financial institution to see whether they offer this type of credit card, and lastly

6. Don’t buy items you really can’t afford with no way in hell of paying them back by the end of the month.  This is not good money management and is seeing your hard-earned dollars going to others and not you.  You work hard for every dollar you get so make it count and if you really want that particular item save up for it – because it makes it all the worthwhile knowing you actually own it not the bank!

That’s it for my 6 tips on how to better manage your credit card. If you’re looking for more training and education in how to work money to your advantage then check out a money program that’s super affordable and will get you back in the black.

How To Keto Your Money is a 21-day kick start program designed to get your money back in shape. Find out more HERE

Any questions leave me a comment and if you enjoyed this please also let me know.

Until next time here’s to your financial health, wealth and happiness.

Pin It on Pinterest