Common Money Mistakes You Should Avoid

The Idea Of Evaluating Financial Decisions

We are almost at the halfway line of 2022, but there’s really no wrong time to take stock of the financial decisions that you’ve made in the course of the year. It’s perfectly fine to know where you stand financially as you approach the midway point, and in doing that, you may find yourself thinking about the purchases you made, how much you were able to save, investments taken up (if any), and expenses unaccounted for. Whether it’s an expensive item that you ended up not needing at all, or seeing your Crypto investment go up in flames, it’s okay to view things from the standpoint of evaluation.

Common Mistakes To Avoid

The truth, however, is that no matter how much stock-taking you do, you will keep making certain wrong decisions if you don’t know that these moves are wrong in the first place. Unless you learn how not to put your funds in the wrong ventures, you will keep losing money, getting overwhelmed by seeing your finances on freefall, and suffering from a lack of good money advice. Here are a few financial mistakes commonly made by people who frequently interact with money, and how you can avoid these mistakes:

1. Not Having Any Money Goals: The secret to having wealth is simple. Just as with other areas of life, setting money goals is also crucial. Building wealth and financial security don’t happen magically- it takes time and conscious effort. Setting up financial goals help you stay focused on a target. You need a realistic look into all that you choose to do with your money. If you need to save to buy a house, a car, travel, etc, you will need to set money goals.

2. Not Having A Budget: Spending without a budget is misappropriation. Have a budget & stay on it. This is the epitome of discipline. Cultivating financial discipline is extremely important. A budget creates boundaries, in the manner that you set boundaries with your friends and family. Without a budget, you are on your way to becoming a chronic debtor, and people will be less inclined to have financial dealings with you.

3. Impulse Buying: Don’t buy things without properly planning for them. Also, you have no business going to get an item off the shelf simply because it’s the “coolest thing to own at the moment.” Causing your funds to deplete just to get something that will depreciate in value after one year is an unwise way to live, especially if it’s not an important need at the time.

4. Spending Money Before It Actually Gets To You: Until money enters your account, don’t go & pick something with the hope that you will pay when you get the money. That habit will lead you into the red. How about if that money does not come at the end of the day? If you adopt this lifestyle, you will find yourself in penury before long.

5. Not Having Any Emergency Funds: Unforeseen circumstances like a job loss, car repair bill, illness, etc should be planned for. An emergency fund can protect you from crippling debts. Include your emergency fund in your budget until it’s fully funded. Many financial experts suggest saving at least six months’ worth of your salary.

6. Not keeping a record of your money: Keeping record of your money gives details and helps raise your awareness of your spending habits. It shows you what you’re doing with your money. As you spend, keep a record of your money. What items are you buying and how much are you saving? You may think you’re spending less but when you check, you might realize that you’re spending more than you should.

How Paga Helps You To Keep Track Of Your Spending

It is also important that you keep track of your spending, and this is one of the services provided by Paga. One way the platform does this is by allowing you to set up recurring payments. This means that you can set up your account in a manner that it will be debited a specific amount at a specified time of the month for a particular service. A recurring payment is designed to take away the burden of initiating a regular payment while ensuring you do not miss the payment. It is simple to set up. To do this:

–          Log into your Paga account

–          Select “recurring payments” from the list of services

–          Create a new recurring payment

–          Select the service you want to create a recurring payment for

–          Fill out the details of the recipient/beneficiary

–          Set up the schedule and fill all required fields

–          Review the details and confirm the transaction.

Opening a Paga account is pretty easy.

To get started, click here to download the Paga app on your device, then click on ‘Sign Up’, and follow the instructions from there.