As a procrastinator, you’re the master of putting off necessary work. Just one of the many tasks you postpone is making a budget, even if you really need to spend less and save more. You should know from past experiences that you rarely benefit from your time-wasting habits. When you leave things to the last second, you simply don’t have enough time to give these tasks the attention they deserve. Your finances are important, and they don’t merit a slap-dash approach. Luckily, there are simple budget hacks that can help even the worst procrastinator tackle their budget now rather than later.
Use an app to track spending
If you aren’t sure about what a budget is or how to make one, your very first obstacle is all the research you’ll have to do to figure these things out. At least, that’s an excuse you could have used back before the Internet, but in the digital world, there are so many ways you can automate your budget.
Try downloading a money management app to cut your work in half. You can use an app like Mint to fully automate your budget. All you have to do is give it authorization to review and track your various financial accounts, personal loans, and credit cards, and it will aggregate your financial data into one spot and figure out your spending habits. Once it has access to all your financial responsibilities, it takes over. It reminds you of upcoming bill payments and alerts you when you’re overspending, so you don’t have to commit to your budget everyday.
Automate your bills
If you’ve missed a critical bill payment purely because you put off paying, it’s time to automate your bills. Talk to your bank about pre-authorizing payees, and an advisor will set up automatic withdrawals from your account on the dates you specified. You can ask for this process to happen as often as you need for any of the bills you pay.
Once you’ve set up automatic payments, you’ll avoid missing a due date on any of your responsibilities. Whether it’s your cell phone bill, payday advance, or credit card, you should be able to authorize this feature. If you’re ever unsure, check in with your bank, cell phone provider, loan lenders, and credit companies. The Bank of America, like Verizon, MoneyKey, and VISA, should make it easy for you to automate payments, so be sure to stop by MoneyKey to learn more about your options as you set your preferences with each of your accounts.
Put your procrastination to good use
One of the biggest enemies of a budget is overspending. As soon as you justify dipping into funds meant for bills, cash loan payments, or savings, you’re putting not only your financial plan at risk; you’re putting your entire financial future on the line. While some go-getters will jump on the chance of buying up front-row tickets to Lady Gaga, put your inner procrastinator to good use. Don’t suddenly find the motivation to snatch up these tickets. Give yourself time.
In the example of limited tickets, your procrastinating ways will make it impossible to spend money on the concert because tickets will sell out. But you can apply this lesson to any kind of purchase you want to make but don’t need. Some financial experts suggest waiting as many as 30 days before you make an unnecessary purchase on clothes or entertainment. This distance of time can give you the right perspective on the object of your desires. After 30 days, it becomes clear when you don’t need something that could break your budget.
So you aren’t as motivated as the average Type-A personality, but that shouldn’t mean you can’t expect to manage your finances successfully. With the help of these hacks, you can use your procrastinating nature to your advantage. Try signing up for an app, automating your bills, and waiting to spend your cash. These three tips can help you budget, avoid late fees, and save money as effectively as any ambitious plan.
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