When I first started writing this, I had all planned out for a nice, listicle, without too much extra. However, the post got crazy long quickly, so I decided to make this 60+ important life skills everyone should learn a mini-series of posts. I figured it is better to consume info in bite-size pieces, instead of having an overwhelming feast.
Anyway, in part one of this series of 60+ important life skills everyone should learn, I covered what I feel are the most important skills needed to manage a home. If you are considering the idea that I’ve lost my mind, you might be right. However, if you want to check out part one, go here. I will also add links to all other parts at the bottom of this post.
In part 2 of this series, I’ll be covering the fun stuff (Right.): money. Because whether we like it or not, we all have to deal with money. And there are some skills that are super important.
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60+ important life skills everyone should learn-Part 2
Money/Finances
Creating & sticking to a budget
Nothing can be more important for your finances than creating a good, solid budget that works for you. Even if you make a boatload of money, if you spend it willy-nilly you will end up broke, with no savings, and in a financial disaster.
But creating a budget is not a magical solution. You also need to stick to that budget to make it work. Trust me. I lived without a budget most of my life. It was no picnic.
Managing your money
Writing checks, balancing your checkbook & managing a bank account are essential life skills for anyone and everyone. How else can you make sure you’re using your money resources properly, and staying on budget?
By tracking all your expenses, and living within your means you will achieve a peace of mind that simply making even more money can not give you. Along with living on a budget, it’s the only way to make your money work for you, instead of the other way around.
Saving money
Using coupons & discount codes the right way is a great way of saving money. Learning to use coupons properly did wonders for our family budget at the time. But it was super time-consuming, and I had other plans for my time, so I took a bit of a step back.
However, there are some things I still do, and will continue to do. Shopping the current sales, combining cashback offers, digital coupons, clearance and store-dollars are only a few examples.
Other ways to save money are keeping your utilities bills as low as possible, cutting cable, and removing any other non-essentials from your monthly expenses.
Bill paying
This is probably the simplest and easiest of important life skills you can learn. But it’s also the easiest to let slide and/or mess up. Whether you pay your bills in person, online or by mail, doing so the right way is super important. Top details to watch out for:
- Decide which payment option works best for you. Nowadays you can pay in person, mail in a check or money order, pay online on your bacnk’s website, and even by phone.
- Add the payment due date to your calendar, AND a reminder to pay it. These 2 are two different things. This is because if, for example, you decide to mail in a check, you will have to mail it in ahead of the due date to make sure your payment is not late.
- Keep track of all your monthly bills. If you have some that are directly taken from your account, you’ll want to make sure you have the funds available on the date of. Put all bills that you receive in the mail in one spot so you can quickly check to make sure nothing is missing.
- Always pay on time. Not doing so could cause servie interruption, overdraft charges, and nasty headaches no one needs. Plus, the only way you can have healthy finances is by sticking to your budget, and late fees, unpaid bills, etc. are a sure sign that your finances need attention.
Navigating insurance claims
While some companies have pretty straightforward process to deal with claims, the whole thing can be overwhelming, especially if it’s your first time doing it.
To make the process less scary, there are a few simple steps you can take:
- Take the time to read thru your policies carefully. To be honest, this should be done before signing anything. but Ik know most of the mumbo-jumbo can (and will) go straight over most people’s heads (mine included). Still, do your very best to become familiar with your policeis. Trust me. You don’t want to face any surprises.
- Keep all the paperwork organized. You don’t want to be in a positiion where you need something immediately and find that all the papers are acattered. Or worse, lost. By simply keeping it all together, and properly labeled you will be able to easy access what you need when you need to.
- Know your rights. And your obligations. Simply put, you are responsible for knowing what your part of the deal is. Any deal. This is the best way to avoid getting scammed. Or else, file unnecessary claims that you are not entitled to.
- Always, always, always read the fine print.
Filing taxes or finding the right tax professional
My husband always says that there are only 2 things he absolutely HAS to do in life: die and pay taxes haha. He might be joking (I think), but he is not wrong. If you have any taxable source of income at all, you HAVE to file your taxes yearly and pay your dues.
If like me, you have never done your own taxes, this can be a scary thing to deal with. Luckily, ours are pretty simple and straightforward, so my husband does the filing. However, in some more difficult or complicated cases professional help is key to not screwing it up.
If that’s the case for you, seek the help. Do it. There’s nothing wrong with it, and it will probably save you time and money to do so. Becasue if there’s one thing you don’t want to do is be in debt with the government.
To sum it all up (for those who get scroll-happy), here are the most important money-related life skills everyone should learn:
- Creating and sticking to a budget
- Managing your money
- Saving money
- Bill paying
- Navigating insurance claims
- Filling taxes
Hope you found this post helpful! As always, please leave your comments, suggestions or questions in the comment section below. And don’t forget to checkout the rest of the 60+ important life skills everyone should learn series. Here are the links:
- Part 1: Home
- Part 3: Social & Occupational/Professional
- Part 4: Car/Transportation & Safety
- Part 5: Personal/Self-care
60+ important life skills everyone should learn
