Penny Wise–Pay Your Bills On Time & Save

Personal finance is full of decisions: Rent or buy? Save or build credit?
But these aren't all either-or scenarios. Rather, having a good credit and well-managed savings go hand-in-hand.

You have to be serious about building your savings, because you'll either end up paying bills late or you'll run up on debt. But if you're already in debt, it can be intimidating to think you have to tackle that in addition to saving money for later.

The game plan won't be the same for everyone, but one thing applies to everyone: It can be tough to maintain good credit if you're not saving, too.

Pay Bills On Time
One thing that doesn't require extra money is making timely payments, whether that's credit cards, utility or loan payments. It makes up a significant portion of your credit scores, so it's crucial to be organised and avoid missing any payments. No matter your money situation, paying bills before they're due should be a top priority. I would know as I have personally suffered when I had ignored paying my credit card bills on time. A big interest was charged making me pay much more than the original amount due. My fault of course!

Analyse Your Budget
It can be really hard to make lifestyle changes, even when you know it's the most logical way to meet your goals. But living beyond your means isn't a sustainable financial plan. (If you can afford all of your expenses but aren't saving for the future, you're living beyond your means.)

The beautiful thing about budgets is that they not only help you avoid overspending, they also identify areas you can cut from. There are lots of ways where you can have a breakdown of where your money goes, (maintain a notebook) but knowing where to cut is easier than actually doing it. It is very difficult as sometimes we are not willing to give up things that we are accustomed to.

Everyone has different priorities — for some people eating out is much more important than having cable, a well-decorated home or updated wardrobe. For me, my top priority is travelling knowing fully well that it really cuts into my saving! What I am trying to say is, we need to enjoy the important things in life but at the same time we have to ensure not to spend beyond our means. 

If you are monitoring your spending carefully you will notice the areas where you are spending more than you realise (in my case it is travelling). That should help you make a decision on where to cut back even though it is temporary. 

SUPPLEMENT YOUR INCOME
Good credit scores aren't about how much money you have; they're about how you manage your money. Even if you have a tight budget, making small moves toward savings will be incredibly helpful in the future. Think about it: Even putting an extra Taka 5000 away each month leaves you with Taka 60,000 at the end of the year. 

Saving has to be a priority and this has to be instilled in our children. Giving a child a 'Piggy bank' in the early years of his life is a good decision. In a fun way he/she will learn the art of saving all the cash gifts that they get on birthdays and religious festivals. Most importantly the feeling of achievement when at the end of the year the clay Piggy Bank is broken and the amount of money saved is counted – A Sense of Happiness!