Play your part in shifting the power and creating a sustainable future by taking care of yourself and your finances. Here’s how to take care of yourself, financially.
How to take care of yourself, financially:
Pay Yourself First
Creating your own rock-solid financial future is the best best thing you can ever do for yourself. But if you are paying your bills every month, hoping there will be money left to save at the end, you may be quite disillusioned and definitely poorer. So turn your budget on its head and place yourself at the front of the payment queue! There are some great apps out there including the budget planner, Expense tracker app, which is straight forward, allowing you to capture various income sources and expenses. You need to have a good idea of your actual monthly expenses before you start, and if you find that your income won’t cover them, rework the numbers to balance your budget. If you need to up your income, consider a side hustle. And remember, make your savings automatic- set up a debit order just as you would for other accounts and make yourself your preferred creditor!
Cut the queues
If you’re an international traveller, an armchair shopper, or need to send money offshore, buying foreign currency is expensive and time-consuming. Now you can buy, exchange and store USD, AUD, euros, ZAR and GBP at real time live rates with standard bank shift app. Its features make it a breeze- you can create multiple Shift Virtual Mastercards for local and online shopping, pay global beneficiaries, and send money instantly with Shyft to Shift money transfers. Spend locally as well with a ZAR Shyft Rand Card or internationally, withdraw and spend cash with a Shift MasterCard. Lastly invest in the top US stocks from your phone. With competitive fees and ease of use, what not to love about this app? Plus, you don’t have to bank with Standard Bank to use it.
Close the Gap
Sadly, the gender pay is alive and well: Globally woman are paid 20% less than men on average for doing the same job, and we’re worse off in South Africa. Our average pay gap is between 23% and 35%, hitting woman in the middle and upper wage brands the hardest. Don’t be part if the statistics and get paid what you deserve. Keeping track of everyday successes can help motivate for the pay rase, providing potent firepower at review time.But its easy to forget what you bring the table, which is why the PepTalkHer app is so phenomenal. It keeps track your successes, no matter how smal, and you can upload images and text, which can be emailed to yourself as a PDF. You can also tag and categorise your wins in areas of your choice such as project management. It’s like having a cheerleader in your pocket to hep you showcase yourself when the time is right!
ALSO SEE 5 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR FINANCIAL FITNESS
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