[vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner el_class=”container”][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]No matter how much you love your role as a tradie, whether you\u2019re a business owner or you\u2019re still working for the man, money is always going to be a focus. How much you\u2019re getting paid, how much a job is going to cost, and what expenses you have are going to be front of mind for you a lot as a tradie, so here are some great tips to help you make sure your money is always working for you.<\/p>\n

1. Keep track of where your money is going<\/strong>
\nWhen you\u2019re busy and bills and expenses are piling up, it\u2019s difficult to keep track of just how much you\u2019re paying and where your money is going. Often as a tradie, unexpected costs can jump out at you and you need to deal with them ASAP, but it\u2019s important to actually keep a record of how much you\u2019re paying for what and how often.<\/p>\n

Budgeting seems straightforward, but once you forget to note a cost down once, you\u2019re likely to forget to do it again and you\u2019ll feel like you\u2019re hemorrhaging money without even knowing where it\u2019s going! Make it a habit to keep a record of your expenses and you\u2019ll feel much more prepared.<\/p>\n

2. Look into your variable costs<\/strong>
\nSome expenses you might find that you just can\u2019t budget for – sometimes it depends what you\u2019ve got going on at the time and some months might have more expenses than others. Make a list of everything that doesn\u2019t have a fixed cost every time, such as petrol or building supplies. See how much you\u2019ve spent on those costs over the past year and average it out, maybe budgeting a little higher just in case.<\/p>\n

By mapping it all out, you can also see which months are going to be busier and in which months you might need to spend more (when your rego and WOF are due, etc.) and then you can budget for those too.<\/p>\n

3. Do your research<\/strong>
\nOnce you know how much you\u2019re spending, you can look at how you might be able to cut costs and save yourself some money. If you\u2019re only just breaking even, it might be time to review your expenses and research some other options that might be better and cheaper for you.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re budgeting for your personal life, there might be some subscriptions you could cancel, and if you\u2019re budgeting for your business, there might be a supplier who can offer you a better deal on certain materials. Ask around, do your research and you might just be better off.<\/p>\n

4. Be realistic<\/strong>
\nOnce you actually crunch the numbers (or have the experts do it for you), it might all look a little scary and like you have nothing left for yourself. This is where you need to create some goals – if you want more money for yourself, you might need to look at creating some goals to help you achieve this.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re spending a lot of money on lunches, maybe your goal will be to bring something from home instead (yeah, it\u2019s probably not going to be as nice, but if it means you have more extra cash, it\u2019s worth it, right?) If you want your business to make more money, then you\u2019ll need to have different goals, but make sure to keep them realistic and break them down into smaller chunks month by month – we\u2019ve gone through this one already, check it out here<\/a>.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row el_id=”related-post”][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Related articles” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center|color:%2313143e” use_theme_fonts=”yes” el_class=”title my-5″][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”4″ element_width=”3″ orderby=”rand” item=”918″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1583275559462-4f5f571a-458b-0″ el_class=”related-posts mx-auto mt-3″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner el_class=”container”][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]No matter how much you love your role as a tradie, whether you\u2019re a business owner or you\u2019re still working for the man, money is always going to be a focus. How much you\u2019re getting paid, how much a job is going to cost, and what expenses you have are going to be front […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3312,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-general"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n