Everyone knows accountants like to keep their eyes on the pennies. We’re not saying you’re tighter than a fishing line – careful would be a better word. And why ever not? If you’re a student accountant, working towards your exams, you won’t have much money to throw around.
And when you’ve qualified and on the career ladder, thanks to a great starting role from s1jobs, there’s still that tricky problem of saving for a deposit on a house.
In fact, at every stage of life there are big ticket items to pay for and money for unexpected costs to be found, so it’s only sensible to get into the saving habit and start squirrelling away something for a rainy day.
Then there are the good things like holidays and haircuts in swanky salons. Unless your idea of travel involves a tent and you’re committed to cutting your own hair, you’ll have to find money in the budget for these.
So how do you cover all these costs and still have enough to live on?
Well, as an accountant you’ve a big advantage over everyone else. You’re good with numbers, can work out what mortgage rate figures really mean and crack the complexities of compound interest when everyone else is still trying to add up on their fingers.
However it never hurts to take a refresher course in saving money, so here are a few suggestions for making the most of what you earn.
Use an app to keep track of all your accounts. This allows you to create budgets, track expenses, pay bills and set up alerts to prevent you from going overdrawn or ratcheting up late fees. A shining example to your clients.
When you book hotels, keep track of their pricing and cancel then rebook if the room rate comes down. You could save hundreds of pounds off the cost of your holiday by keeping regular checks in this way.
Have you changed banks at any time? Then you may be completely unaware that you have money sitting waiting for you in redundant accounts.
Use a website such as mylostaccount.org.uk to check through banking records for any money that is sitting in your name.
Of course, the best way to improve your cash flow is with a lovely pay rise in a brand new position – all the more reason to check out the latest accountancy vacancies from s1jobs.