Smart financial decisions to take during tough times

The year has brought about new global changes that our country must now face, which will in turn impact our personal and financial management. This article will explore some possible ways to better manage financial woes in 2023. Be advised as the opinions expressed here are that of the writer, therefore adhering to these is left up to the reader's discretion.

· Prepare a personal budget. This helps you to stay in control of expenses and income, allowing you to have a better idea of where to spend less and thereby save.

· Just setting up a financial budget does not help unless we are reviewing and adjusting the income and expenses accordingly.

· Try to build up an emergency fund for at least six months, this will give you some peace of mind in case of a dire situation, or if you are an employer, allow you to continue paying salaries.

· Spend on actual needs and not wants. One of the primary ways to do it would be exploring expenses you could do without, such as expensive trips to the parlour, gym membership, trips, etc.

· Try to invest 10-15 per cent of your income in savings schemes and real estate. Other avenues of investment can be explored as well. Banks are currently offering good rates on their saving schemes and developers are also trying to attract buyers with special deals.

· If you have bills or debts, please start paying them off so that it does not hamper your finances in the long run. In the case of debts, if it's related to credit cards it would be very prudent to clear this debt as much as possible. Setting up automatic transfers can help you achieve that. You would be left with residual funds after the automatic debt servicing of the credit card takes place, therefore less to spend.

· To avoid financial pitfalls, continuously educate yourself on financial matters. Most dailies have financial sections which will enlighten you on how our economy is doing. Also, an online course on the topic will help.

· In today's world, we incur a lot of expenses entailing different kinds of bills. This year would be a good idea to delve into looking closely at the different rates our credit card companies, internet companies, insurance companies, and mortgage companies are offering. Insist on revisiting with the companies/ institutions to get better rates for better savings.

Economic policies of course will dictate our lives in 2023 but we can better manage our finances in the foreseeable future by adopting the ways discussed in this article.

Photo: Sazzad Ibne Sayed

The writer is the Managing Director, Connect Consulting Ltd