To ensure that your life is continually being bettered, you have to resolve to make smarter financial decisions. You can start in this instance by determining to make and embrace the five decisions listed below.

  1. Accept help whenever you need it

Stubbornness will get you nowhere when it comes to money. You need to be open to the idea of accepting financial help whenever it’s offered, as that could be the difference between you keeping your head above water and you drowning in debt.

The help that you accept could come in a plethora of different shapes and sizes. It could, for example, involve your parents offering you a lump sum to get you on the property ladder, or it could even come in the form of taking out a loan so that you can pay off debt that desperately needs clearing. The point is, there will always be someone or something out there willing to help; you just need to accept their assistance when they offer.

With regards to the latter, a loan company making a quick cash injection available to you, be sure to never dismiss this route as being financially dangerous. If you know that you are going to be able to repay the money that you borrow by the deadlines imposed on you to do so, there’s nothing wrong with taking out payday advance loans online. Whatever you do, just think it through and don’t make any rash decisions based off of fear or greed. Try to keep your borrowing down, and always use a reputable lending company.

As soon as you understand that the pride of not accepting financial help is not worth the fall that it eventually causes, you’ll find it much easier to accept the assistance you need to better your life.

  1. Save all of your small notes

Whenever a small note finds its way into your purse or wallet, tuck it away into your ‘rainy day’ jar. If you do this every time you pick up a $1, $5 or $10 note, you’ll find yourself saving $100s in no time. What you do with that money, whether you keep it stored away for emergencies or whether you use it to pay for a much-needed vacation, will be ultimately dependant on what you think is going to better your life.

The best thing about this saving method is the fact that it doesn’t even feel like saving. It might mean going without a coffee every now and again, but the speed at which this money accumulates will feel like you’re growing money out of thin air.

  1. Keep tabs on your bank

It’s easy to ignore your bank account, especially when you’re convinced that you’re not going to like what you see on there, but doing this will get be sure to land you in financial trouble sooner rather than later. By keeping tabs on your account regularly, you give yourself a much better chance of spotting irregularities with your outgoings, and you can stop fraud in its tracks before it has the opportunity to sink its claws into you. What’s more, by knowing how much you can afford to spend, you stop yourself from overspending, getting yourself into debt, and making life a lot harder for yourself as a result.

  1. Always think in the longterm

As important as it is to keep track of your current spending habits, it’s also just as important to think in the longterm when it comes to your finances. Amongst a great deal of many other positive effects this will have on your bank balance, doing so will allow you to save an appropriate amount of money to suit your future endeavors. Perhaps you need a certain amount of spending money for a vacation you’re taking in 6 months? If you think in the longterm, you’ll have no trouble saving up this sum of money and, as a result, you’ll be able to truly enjoy your time away from home.

If there’s one thing for sure, it’s that thinking in the longterm will definitely open up your eyes to the amount of money that you spend and have the potential to save. If you’re wise about your money, you’ll take this newfound information on board and use it as inspiration to help you curb your spending. For example, once you understand just how expensive a daily Starbucks can be and how much money it has the potential to drain from you over a sustained period of time (having a $4 latte every day will see you spend over $21,000 over ten years), you’ll no doubt cut back on your caffeine fix. Whether this means avoiding coffee altogether or taking a flask to work each morning, the stark realization of how much you spend will be sure to scare you into saving. Just imagine what you could do with that extra $21,000 in ten year’s time.

  1. Use cash, not credit

The biggest mistake you can make as a credit card owner is to treat your credit like it’s free money. By continuing to use your credit card freely and dismiss the spending that you do on it as being a problem that you’ll face another time, you’ll always find yourself in debt of something and owning money to someone. Whether you owe $10 or $100, when you’re in debt, it’s hard to put money aside that is going to better your life.

Instead of using credit to finance your lifestyle, use cash instead. This will see you keep a far tighter rein on your spending, and you’ll end up having more money to spend on yourself going forward. Whatever you do, just put the money that you do save to good use (remember, those lattes will soon add up!).

By making the five smart financial decisions listed above, your life will no doubt end up being a whole lot better.