Every day, we have choices to make. Such choices include should you have a fruit or should you have a pizza? Should you go for a run, or should you go home and watch a movie? We are faced with different situations that prompt up to make decisions. Some may be good while others may be bad and it is easy to form a habit from constant bad decision making. Just like physical fitness, individuals should have financial fitness. The only way to achieve financial fitness is by practicing good habits. This article shows some of the habits that are often overlooked, but they are the key to financial health and freedom.
Know How Much You Make And Spend
This is the first step to financial health. Be honest with yourself and compute how much you earn. If you have a fixed salary, that should be easy. If your salary is dependent on commissions, you can exclude that. If you have a business, you probably have a high and low season. Look at the trends of the last two or three years and come up with an average. After that, compute your expenses. Try to minimize the expenses by cutting off the unnecessary items so that you can save more.
Stay Insured
Studies have shown that medical expenses are the biggest cause of bankruptcy. Therefore, being insured will help you to keep your finances right. Surprisingly, individuals who have filed for bankruptcy before have been found to have health insurance. It is therefore advisable to get a cover that suits your needs. For instance, if you have dependents like your children or your wife, do not go for the cover that your single friend has.
Develop A Long Term Financial Plan
Having a sense of direction in your life is important. Have a plan of where you would want to be in a few years. Your financial future has more importance than the latest car, phone or even holiday. If you invest in such, make sure that you balance them out with your long term plans and work hard towards ensuring that you abide by your plans.
Get Other Sources Of Income
Your income matters a lot when it comes to having a good financial health. If you have one job, look for alternative sources of income because it is hard to thrive with just one income. Work hard now so that you can enjoy when you retire.