If by the end of the month you are wondering where all your salary went, you most likely have problems with financial self-control. If you always want to have money, you should learn how to control yourself and your cash flow.

Several times a day you spend money on things that you don't need. The reason for this behavior is the lack of financial self-control. Over and over again, you make small expenses without thinking about how much money you have spent. Here are the consequences of the lack of self-control:

• you can’t achieve big financial goals

• you have to borrow money

• you don't know how much money you will have in a day or a month

Giving up your usual lifestyle is not easy. Making a long-term plan is harder than just wasting money and indulging in small pleasures. But if you want to live in abundance and not worry about your future, you need to find out how to control yourself and your cash flow. Here are some good tips on how to get rid of financial issues.

1. Start budgeting

Start by setting up your budget. Find out how much your income is and determine your base monthly spending. Try calculating your spendings and income and you will see whether the balance is positive or negative. It’s important to control your expenses so that they do not exceed the amount that you earn. 

It is difficult to solve money-related issues. Start with clear spending: transportation, rent, food, and groceries. Gradually analyze the rest of the expenses that you make during the day and add them to your budget. Review it periodically. Knowing all your spendings will help you manage money flow and costs.

2. Use cash instead of credit cards

Credit cards typically have large limits. It’s more difficult to control the expenses with these credit cards. When you don't have real, paper money in your hands, it is easy to ignore what you can afford when buying. 

The solution to this problem is simple: use only cash. If you find that you don't have enough cash, consider thinking about how you can save money.

3. Learn about investments

One of the main steps in building wealth is to start investing. If this is intimidating, try to study the issue in more detail. Read the literature for beginners, sign up for courses, try a service or application where you can purchase several shares in demo mode.

The wise investor views buying securities as buying a stake in the business. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the financial results of enterprises over several years. No one wants to acquire a company with an ineffective business model. Give up speculation, play on the rise and fall of the stock price throughout the day. This method is risky and often leads to loss of capital. Invest money in the medium or long term startups.

4. Start saving

Saving is an important part of money management. Set aside interest on any income (salary, bonuses, cash gifts) regularly. Financiers recommend setting aside 10%. If you find it difficult, try starting at 5% or even 1%. This will help form the habit of saving. Increase the percentage gradually over time. Remember, it's important to set aside money before you spend.

5. Keep tracking your expenses and revise them regularly

The biggest challenge with tracking expenses is that people usually don't have one place to collect data on all their spending and see where the money goes at all.

The solution is simple: track your expenses and write down how you spend every dollar. For convenience, you can break down all your expenses into categories: food, entertainment, clothing, household chemicals, transport, large purchases, utility bills, etc.

You can use one of the apps to manage your finances. A regular notebook or a spreadsheet on a laptop is also a good option. Regardless of which tool you choose, the goal remains the same: record your expenses every day, sort it by category, and analyze it to see which categories you overspend.

6. Before each purchase ask yourself: "Can I live without this thing?"

To control your financial life, you need to develop a habit of evaluating every purchase. Before any purchase try asking yourself the following questions: “Do I need this thing?”, “Can I live without it?”, “Is there a cheaper analog?”. 

Financial self-control is the ability to say “no” to things that you would have said “yes” to without hesitation. Ask yourself: "Can I live without this thing?". If you answer “yes”, then you don't need to buy it. Instead, save money for more important things. If you answer "no", then ask yourself the following question: "Is there a cheaper analog?". This will help you learn to evaluate and accept the consequences of your every decision and expense.

7. Improve your work performance

Improving work performance is one of the things that are necessary to stay in position, increase salary, or get a better job. Stay competitive. Receive additional qualification certificates, take courses, develop skills that make work more efficient:

• Social skills

• creativity

• analytic skills

• positive thinking and resistance to stress

• ability to apply knowledge in practice

• patience and persistence

Don't forget that it is important to show them to your employer.

8. Find additional sources of income

Sometimes financial problems are associated not with large expenses, but with a low wage. Try to find additional income, such as renting out a property or making money online. This will strengthen your financial position.