Advice

Finance, Tax

How To Get Back On Track With Your Finances

Life happens no matter how much we plan, and it can wreak havoc on our finances. Even if you had the best laid financial plans, life can get in the way, and you may find yourself wondering how to get back on track. Is everything lost if you’ve fallen off track, stopped saving money, or have had to use every dollar earned to pay bills? Fortunately, we can tell you the answer is ‘no, it’s not all lost.’ There are plenty of ways to get back on track even when you feel lost. Everyone experiences the feeling at one time or another. The important thing to remember is your financial hardship is temporary, and with a few adjustments, you can get back on track. 10 tips for how to get back on track financially So, are you ready to take charge of your finances? Here are 10 tips on how to get back on track when you feel lost! 1. Reflect on your mistakes Have you ever heard that mistakes are opportunities to learn? It’s true. You can look at a mistake as a complete and utter failure, or you can look at it as a learning experience. Look at it and decide what you could have done better. What could you change? Use your mistakes as stepping stones to improve your life (and your finances), and don’t let them hold you back. While it won’t help you get back on track immediately, it will help you grow as a person and make wiser choices moving forward if and when life kicks you again. 2. Create a habit tracker If you’re the type that starts a habit and then falls off the wagon after a few days or weeks, use a habit tracker to make it easier to stick to. You can even set up rewards for specific milestones. For example, if you stick to your budget for two weeks in a row, reward yourself (with a small reward, nothing that will break the bank). If you notice on your habit tracker that you can’t stick to your budget or you quit your ‘good’ habits after a few tries, figure out why. Is there something specific going on in your life that makes it impossible to stick to your desired habits? Take an honest look at your life and figure out what’s causing the roadblock and see what you can do to work around it. 3. Review your budget to get on track Sometimes the budget that seems right is all wrong. If you can’t stay on track with your finances, it could be because you set up the wrong budget. Even if you followed a template or did what your successful BFF did, it doesn’t mean it will work for you. Take an honest look at your spending. Pull your bank and credit card statements, determine where you’re going over budget, and understand why. Did you make your budget too restrictive? Do you need to rearrange how much you have budgeted for certain categories? You may find you have to cut back on certain costs. List your costs by priority and decide how you’ll cut back. It could be small things, like cutting back on your grocery spending or eating out less. Finding the right budget method is how to get back on track when you feel lost about your finances! 4. Stick to your schedule Everyone needs a schedule to stick to their good habits. Your schedule helps you make good choices rather than trying to make fly-by-night decisions. Set up a schedule to pay your bills, revisit your budget, and contribute to your savings or investment accounts. The more you have scheduled, the more likely you are to get on track. It’s harder to say ‘I’m not going to put money in savings today’ when it’s staring at you from your calendar. The guilt will get to you, and you’ll find that you want to stick to your good financial habits because they’re scheduled. 5. Find an accountability partner Getting an accountability partner is how to get back on track when you feel lost. If you’re married, can you hold one another accountable? If you are both spenders or you’re both guilty of falling off track, find a neutral third party to be your accountability partner. You need someone who will ask you the questions you need to hear and wait until you provide honest answers. You’re more likely to stay on track with your finances if you have to answer to someone. For example, you are shopping and see a gorgeous purse you must have. You know it’s not in your budget, but it’s calling your name. If you have an accountability partner, you know you’ll have to answer to them. You’ll likely give the purchase much greater thought and hopefully won’t do it. 6. Focus on what you can control Life is unpredictable, as you know. We think we are in control of it all, but we aren’t – not even close. Instead of looking at what you can’t control, focus on what you CAN control. You can control how much money you put in your savings account each month. You can control how much you contribute to your retirement account each paycheck. What you can’t control are things like pandemics, losing your job (sometimes), or falling ill. When you focus on the things you can control, it’s a lot easier to get on track with your finances. Life doesn’t seem as overwhelming when you focus on what you can control and worry less about what you can’t. 7. Always keep learning You are never too old to learn. As far as personal finances are concerned, the landscape keeps changing. While it used to be ‘smart’ to use your credit cards for every purchase, it’s no longer the right thing to do. FICO calculations change, what lenders look for change, and even how you can invest your money changes all the time. Always learn, see what’s new and how you can improve your personal financial situation. Take cryptocurrency, for example. This wasn’t around or at least popular a few years ago, yet now it’s the

Audit, Tax

Why The Internal Audit Is Important ?

When it comes to adding value throughout an organization, there is no better source than internal auditing. Internal auditing is an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve an organization’s operations. The mission of Internal Audit is to enhance and protect organizational value by providing risk-based and objective assurance, advice, and insight. The inclusive but not an exhaustive list of value that internal auditing brings can be grouped into several categories as mentioned below: 1. The BusinessDemonstrate a deep understanding of the organization, its history, its mission, key stakeholders, its strategy, its competition, its corporate culture, its structure, and the business function. 2. TechnologyUnderstand and apply those new technologies that are reshaping how we are work and live. For e.g.: blockchain, digital transformation, drones, financial technology, artificial intelligence etc. 3. GovernanceTesting the same risks and controls by multiple assurance providers is efficient and creates fatigue on process owners. 4. Risk EffortAssess the organization’s ability to foresee and respond to global events and provide advice regarding risks and opportunities. 5. FieldworkDevelop audit findings using the format: Condition, Criteria, Cause, Effect and Recommendation. Internal Audit will provide a clear picture to cover all the significant potential risk after assessing all internal and external factors and providing objective opinions, information, support, and education to the top management.

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