Is your lifestyle efficient, productive, frugal, safe, and healthful? Few could answer yes to all, but there are simple ways to avoid falling into bad habits in the first place. As with so much else in life, it’s easier to deal with problems before they occur than try to solve them after they appear. An ounce of prevention truly is worth a pound of cure, in other words. What are the modern-day culprits that sneak up on otherwise diligent, hard-working adults and wreak havoc with their daily lives and routines?
For many, the central challenge is keeping expenses under control. After that, top offenders include a lack of attention to home security, personal health, and retirement savings. Plus, it’s common for busy adults not to get enough sleep, set income tax withholding amounts incorrectly, and not manage their time as well as they should. On the positive side, here are some details about the most effective ways to meet life’s everyday challenges.
Ignoring Home Safety & Security
Adding necessary security features to a living area requires little effort and expense. In recent years, the price of sophisticated components has come down, allowing even those on limited budgets the chance to add things like multiple surveillance cameras, motion-sensitive outdoor lighting, smart locks, alarm systems, and unbreakable windows. The easiest way to boost your home’s safety factor is to contact a local contractor and get a basic inspection. Don’t purchase products unless they add a significant amount of value and security to your dwelling. Focus on inexpensive, portable add-ons.
Letting Monthly Expenses Get Out of Hand
There’s a very good reason that the internet and television programming are full of discussions about how to deal with personal finances. It’s because many tend to let their monthly expenses get too high. For families, individuals, and couples who try to make do, rising costs are the chief agent of financial turmoil. The categories include car insurance prices, grocery bills, homeowners’ premiums, student loan payments, and dozens of other line items on the monthly budget.
Luckily, there are ways to directly address budgeting woes and come out ahead. For websites like Navient Marketplace provide real-world solutions for consumers who want to compare multiple rates from the best insurance companies, homeowner policy providers, personal loan offers, and student loan refinance deals. It makes sense to leverage the power of a single online platform that lets you make side-by-side comparisons and select the best prices and offers on a wide range of financial, insurance, and other kinds of products.
Wasting Time
Try an experiment. For one week, keep an hourly log of how you spend time. Don’t leave anything out. Most who engage in this task are shocked at how many minutes slip away each day. To remedy the situation, practice attentive time management by creating a weekly schedule of activities. Assume you sleep 8 hours per day and have 16 remaining for work, eating, socializing, etc. The act of creating a written schedule is usually enough to eliminate the majority of wasted time in a person’s average day.
Procrastinating About Retirement Savings
If you haven’t opened a retirement account, now is the time to get busy. Contact a bank or brokerage firm you trust and spend 20 minutes setting up an IRA and funding it. Don’t worry as most financial institutions and brokers are happy to get your business and have low or no minimum balance requirements. Make room in your monthly budget for regular contributions to the plan, no matter how small the amount. The point is to automatically add funds to an IRA from every paycheck and build a habit of saving for retirement.
Taking Good Health for Granted
Working adults forget about their physical health, especially when they’re young and have no pressing medical problems. Unfortunately, it’s imperative to see a doctor at least once per year for a basic checkup. Then, follow the physician’s advice about follow-up care and any other suggestions related to diet, exercise, and overall fitness. Don’t make the mistake of waiting for an accident or major health crisis before seeing a medical professional. Taking a proactive approach to physical well-being is a practice that pays off in the long run. Be well, live well, and get regular checkups from a physician.
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