Five tips for looking after your large household’s finances

Take the pain out of managing your family’s finances.

Taking care of household finances can be taxing, especially if you have a big family. But with proper planning and budgeting, there’s no need to stress.

Here are some tips to help you effectively manage your household finances.

1. Examine your finances

Sitting down as a family and figuring out how much money is coming in and going out may help you gauge the state of your family’s finances. A clear picture of your household income and expenses could set you up to manage your cashflow better.

2. Rein in spending

Keeping expenses under control can be tough in a large household. But if you’re spending as much as or more than you’re earning, you might want to consider limiting your family’s discretionary costs by buying only what you can afford.

3. Set financial goals

Setting financial goals as a family may help you work towards future aspirations instead of simply meeting current expenses. Whether it’s buying a bigger house or going on a dream holiday, having a financial goal may help your family set priorities and stay on track financially.

4. Keep a budget

Keeping track of spending may help you to better manage your family’s finances. By working with a professional financial adviser, you could create a budget that factors in not only income and expenses, but also your financial obligations.

5. Build up emergency and retirement funds

Unplanned expenses such as unforeseen medical bills can put a dent in family finances. By growing your emergency fund to cover six months’ worth of expenses, you may be better positioned to handle unexpected events.

While it’s easy to neglect your own financial future when providing for your family, saving for retirement should not take second place. Keep in mind that the earlier you start saving, the better chance you have to grow a sufficient nest egg.

Working with an adviser

Managing finances for a big family need not be a painful exercise. By working alongside a financial adviser to keep track of your spending, and discussing money matters and setting financial goals as a family, handling household finances is a task you can achieve.

Contact BlueRocke on 1 300 71 71 36 today.

Four ways social media affects our spending

Social media could influence us to spend impulsively.

 

Can social media use be linked to spending? Research shows it can. For example, one study found that social networks such as Facebook and Instagram can motivate impulsive buying behaviours.[1]

But how does social media affect our spending?

1. Advertising

Sites like Facebook and Instagram have evolved from social networking platforms to powerful advertising tools. We only need to look at our social media feeds to realise how businesses use targeted advertising to expose us to brands, products and services. Targeted posts are effective at getting us to spend because they’re typically developed based on our demographics and even our behaviours.

2. Fear of missing out

Social media creates a tendency among users to compare their lifestyle to those of others. This comparison can trigger a fear of missing out or FOMO, leading us to buy and consume just to fulfil the urge to keep up with everyone else.

3. Encouraging imitation

Images of products or aspirational lifestyles posted on social media by people we respect or admire might influence us to spend unnecessarily or indulgently. This happens when we look to them for cues or guidance when we don’t know how to act and simply copy what they’re doing. Psychologists call this social proofing.[2]

4. Seamless shopping experience

Social media platforms can also encourage spending by providing a seamless shopping experience. For example, Facebook enables retailers to sell on the platform itself, and Instagram lets them add links to products and services mentioned in their posts so users can purchase them online. This makes it extremely easy to spend.

Making smart choices

Social media can help us make better choices by exposing us to more products and services and enabling us to learn about other people’s experiences using them. But it can also influence us to spend unnecessarily or impulsively.

By setting financial goals, you can make smart choices with your money. Your professional financial adviser can help you get started by creating a plan and budget to help you secure your financial future.

Contact Dev Sarker on 1300 71 71 36 today!

 

[1] Aragoncillo, L, 2018, ‘Impulse buying behaviour: an online-offline comparative and the impact of social media’, Spanish Journal of Marketing, accessible at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/SJME-03-2018-007/full/html

[2] Psychology Notes HQ, August 2015, ‘What is the Social Proof Theory?’, accessible at: https://www.psychologynoteshq.com/social-proof/.

Putting your goals first

A goals-based investment approach isn’t focused on ‘beating the market’. It’s about tailoring your investments to meet your personal goals.

Your adviser may help you create a financial plan tailored to help you achieve the goals you want.

Get in contact with Dev Sarker today on 1300 71 71 36!