Everyone wants to buy a house, own a fancy car, and live a comfortable life. Money is an important factor to fulfill all our dreams and provide stability to the family. All of us are striving hard to generate enough income to make our ends meet. It is only possible if you learn how to make your money work for you.
The statement might be cliche for many of us, but do we know what does it mean. How does this work? We cannot deny the story of rag to riches. Many rich people today were not born with it. They accumulated wealth with a process over a period of time.
What is the process of making money work for you?
In this blog, we will see a step by step guide on how to make money work for you. But it is important to understand the meaning of the statement.
When we talk about the process, we don’t mean becoming rich overnight. It means taking control of your finances and then making it work for your stability and growth.
Before you put your money to use, understand the inflow of income, and use it wisely. There is no one-step solution. There are different ways to do it. The objective is to find one such way to put your money to work.
Let us understand a few steps to get started.
1.Budgeting
Many of us understand the importance of budgeting but hardly follow it. Making a Budget is important to understand the inflow and outflow of cash.
The budget helps you understand the sources of income and ways you are going to spend it. The idea of budgeting it make use of your money wisely than spending ruthlessly.
Budgeting is a continuous process. You need to track your income and expenses daily, weekly basis, and monthly basis. When you spend your money accordingly, you will end up saving a lot.
The hard part of budgeting is not making one but keeping track of it. Most of us consider the idea of budget absurd and end up broke for the month.
Let me share with you the right may plan your income and expenses so that you save in the end.
You can either make a budget with a traditional pen and paper or on your laptop. In the column, write down all the sources of income—for instance – Salary, Incentives, Interest, etc. Now allocate the money on fixed and variable expenses.
For instance- Fixed expenses such as Rent, Electricity Bill, Credit Card bill, etc. Variable expenses like Shopping, online orders, entertainment, etc.
Once you are done with this, make sure you separate at least 20-30% of income as saving
When you receive your income, the foremost thing you have to do is allocate the set percentage to saving and spending accordingly.
Note – In any case, don’t try to cross the limit set for a particular expense. Stop once the limit is exceeded.
Also Read |How to Earn Money by Delaying your Laundry?
2.Develop a source of passive income
The other quick rich scheme. Hold on. I know a lot of you might be thinking of creating money for free. Let me help you with the meaning of passive income.
Passive income isn’t any other scheme of making money, rather generating a source of income that helps you earn money even while sleeping.
Sounds great? But first, it requires an investment of both time & money. Later the source may reap the benefits in the long run.
For instance – Investment in a real state. It is a one-time investment but later opens opportunities to earn money. Something as simple as Youtube Channel or Affiliate marketing can also become the source of passive income.
Investment in the stock market is another source of generating passive income. Yield the benefit of dividend and capital gains with stocks higher than bank investments.
Despite the risk and fluctuations in the market, investment in real estate is the most preferred option. Unlike an investment in the stock market or retirement account, capital investment in real estate is high initially. However, after investing, the amount that you will earn by renting the property will expedite your mortgage expenses or other charges, generating a source of your passive income.
You should consider all the factors such as location, tax deductions before choosing a property. There are a lot of tax deductions related to rental property. Hence it is the tax-effective option if the right choice is made.
3.Get rid of Debt
Lending in Debt is an endless loop of interest payments. Refrain from taking any kind of Debt. In case you rely on Debt, make sure you pay for the original purchase and only end up paying interest.
Never make use of Debt for your expenses. Once you land into the debt cycle, you exhaust your financial capability. It creates a financial burden, and you won’t be able to save anything.
Paying off Debt will help you save money for something important and make money work for you. You can put this money into your education, investment, traveling, or buy something to raise your living standard. Even you can save this money to start your business. There are multiple ways of settling your Debt.
Here are some simple steps you can follow to get rid of debt-trap.
- Pay the minimum amount on all your debts.
- Stop using your credit card to pay your bills.
- Whatever amount you save at the end of the month, use it to pay off the Debt.
- Track your budget. Look if you can lower down your spending and cut on unnecessary things. Skip going to a local coffee shop every day or maybe not order once or twice a week.
- Once you pay off one Debt, move on to the next one. Now allocate that extra money to pay off the remaining debts.
- If you receive a bonus or paycheque that was pending for a long. Don’t spend the amount on a splurge. Instead, use a portion of the amount to pay your debts.
Follow the steps mentioned above; this will help you get rid of debts soon.
4.Emergency Funds
Life is uncertain, and you never know you might land in an unfavorable situation. An unexpected medical emergency, job loss, or any other financial emergency can put you in a spiral of Debt. Hence creating an emergency fund can help you meet the financial necessity during unprecedented times.
Creating an emergency fund is also works as a passive income. You let your money work for you at times when you are not able to generate any income.
As stated in point 1, your budget must include 20-30% of savings. No matter what, your expenses are set some money aside as part of an emergency fund.
Emergency funds and savings are two different concepts. Most of us blur the line here. Let me help you understand the difference between both-
An emergency fund is usually a proportion of money that is set aside to meet unforeseen circumstances. It might be related to personal health or breakdown of any asset etc.
Savings, on the other hand, are used to meet short & long-term goals. For instance – Buying a car, house or going on an international trip, etc. These savings are usually invested in stocks, PPF, etc.
What should be the minimum amount for an emergency fund?
The contribution to the emergency funds should be entirely on the financial capacity. However, it is suggested to save up to 3-6 months of your income.
It is always advised to keep your emergency fund in a high-yielding savings account. This will help you earn a high-interest rate while your money sits in your bank account. In case you don’t find options for high interest rates, investors look for online options. Makes sure you invest in an option that offers you instant liquidity at the time of emergency.
5.Partnership in a Business
Starting your own business can be scary and requires a lot of initial capital. But if everything goes well, it will pay off and help your money work for you. What if I told you a better option?
There is another way to reap the benefit of any new startup by becoming a silent partner. You won’t have much say in the company but would get a share of profit without actually performing any day-to-day operations.
However, there are a lot of intricacies involved you should consider them all before looking up to a partner.
Also, Read |INSTACART REFERRAL CODE | Free INSTACART Deals and Discount
6.Increase your worth in the job market
The other way to make your money work for you is to upgrade the skills that will land you with better opportunities. Whenever you are free, you can invest in some online courses or acquire a skill that has a lot of demand in the job market.
You don’t have to spend a thousand dollars to get a degree from an international university but make a simple investment. It can be just attending a seminar or taking an online course to improve your communication skills.
Explore various professional platforms to notice the trends in the job market. What particular job has the highest demand? Acquire the skills in that industry and put yourself out. The money invested in acquiring skills will reap your benefits years later.
7. Open a yielding savings account
As stated above, you need to save some proportion of your income as an emergency fund. Ideally, the amount is equivalent to 6 months of your income. You can’t keep this amount ideal but make money work for you.
The smart decision to keep the cash in a high-yielding savings account will create more value. The cash will help you earn interest while you save it in a high-yielding bank account.
Interest rates vary from bank to bank. Usually, online banks offer you a high-interest rate than what you get normally. But that is not always the situation. Make sure you compare different options and read the restrictions regarding the withdrawal of the amount from your account. Choose the preferable option available.
In a normal situation, most savings accounts offer you an interest rate of 0.01%, whereas a high-yielding saving account offers an interest rate that exceeds 1%, which is 10x more than you’ll get.
Online banks tend to offer such a high-interest rate as they don’t have to bear office expenses.
8.Invest in retirement accounts
One of the best ways to make money work for you is to invest in retirement accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs.
The best thing about investing in these accounts is that they enjoy the tax benefit. Your money is invested in the market and has chances to grow with time. You don’t end up paying taxes on the principal amount of income generated.
The next big question is, where should I save my money. Should I end up adding money in the IRA account or 401(k) account? Let us first understand the difference between the two.
401(k) Vs IRA Account
401 (k) is an employer-based retirement plan. Both employer and employee contribute a set percentage to the retirement account. It means that you have to contribute some percentage of your salary towards the account, and your employer may match the contribution to a level.
If you are an individual working without an employer or self-employed, you can contribute to the IRA account.
An Individual Retirement account (IRA) is a financial institution that allows individuals to save for retirement with tax benefits.
There are a lot of benefits of IRA over 401(k) like more investment options, few guidelines, low cost, and the potential of better growth. But employers contribution over a certain threshold is a major advantage with 401(K)
The other good option many people ignore is investing in HSA (Health Savings Account). It is the best option for people with a highly deductible health plan. You don’t lose money if you save in your HSA rather use it to meet your health expenses whenever needed without paying any taxes.
If you are close to retirement, the accounts turn out into the IRA and users can use it for other costs without getting penalized.
9.Invest in the stock market
As I read the stock market, many freaks at the idea of having enough capital to start investing. But it is not true even if you are an individual with an average salary; you can contribute to the stock market and make money work. You can start with as low as $500, or $1000 can invest to earn some returns.
The other misconception is that you need to master the stock market’s work before making any investment decision. But hold on. You don’t have to get a certain degree or course to start investing. There are a lot of fund managers who conduct research and help you make the best investment decision.
Today there are a lot of AI-based advisors that help you make the right investment choices. Based on your investment goals, it helps to create your portfolio to achieve the desired goals.
The fund management fees of AI-based advisors are similar to what a human fund manager would charge from 0.25%-0.50% of assets.
To use AI-based advisors, you need to create an online account. Fill up information about your goals and risk tolerance and time limit. Based on the above factors, AI-advisors will create an investment portfolio and help you make the best investment decisions.
The expert’s advice is not to hold money for a long time in the market. The strategy is to pull money in and out to drive the benefits of market fluctuations and minimize risk when the market is stagnant.
10.Use credit cards with rewards
The general conception is that you should abstain from using a credit card, but here is a twist. If you choose to make payments from reward-based credit cards, you can save a lot in the long run. These rewards may be in the form of cashback, discounts, gift cards, and more.
There are a lot of credit cards that offer your rewards for spending. For instance – Some of these cards might offer you 5-10% of cashback for making payments, some of them might give you a direct 10% discount on travel or booking accommodation, etc.
Make sure you check with the executives before getting access to any of these cards. If you have enough amount saved in your account to pay off the bill every month, these credit cards can be an ideal option to make your money work for you. This way, you can reap the benefits of these rewards without lending in Debt.
The simple idea is to settle your payments via credit card to generate money through these rewards and pay your dues every month. The idea requires a lot of precision and careful budgeting, so if you have existing Debt, this strategy isn’t for you.
Conclusion
The idea of how to make your money work for you is not a quick rich scheme but better utilization of your money. But before that, you need to have a clear idea about your income and expenses. Once you set a goal for your savings every month, make sure you invest this amount to generate a source of income that makes money even when you sleep. Apart from the sources mentioned above, you can create your online presence and offer your skills. For instance – Consulting services, Youtube channels or Affiliate sites, etc.
If you are looking for money-related topics or have questions concerning the same, let us know in the comments below.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column]
[/et_pb_row]
[/et_pb_section]
