For the average person, what is the most challenging aspect of financial management? It's the struggle of not earning much while spending a considerable amount, leading to a painfully slow accumulation of capital. Today, I will guide you through some small tips for increasing income and reducing expenses in daily life, helping you easily save a few thousand yuan more.
Make good use of Huabei and credit cards to take advantage of every month's "wool"
When it comes to Alipay's Huabei and credit cards, many people often harbor strong negative feelings towards them.
Some netizens say that Huabei is a big pit, and they have to pay back a few thousand yuan to it for no apparent reason every 10th of the month.
Others argue that while credit cards are convenient to use, they feel like they are spending more and more money, and it might be better not to use them at all.
There is some truth to what these netizens say. Huabei and credit cards, as financial tools, provide convenience for our daily consumption, but for those with weak self-control, they can indeed gradually fall into a trap, becoming "card slaves."
Therefore, when we use Huabei, Alipay, and credit cards wisely, there must be a fundamental premise, which is that we must consume rationally. We should set a basic budget for our monthly expenses and not overspend beyond the budget. This is a major premise.
So, how can we take advantage of the "wool"?
We all know that whether it's Huabei or a credit card, they are essentially a form of borrowing for consumption. That is to say, the money we spend is advanced by the platform, and what we need to do is to repay the money borrowed from the platform within the specified time.Generally speaking, credit cards offer a 50-day interest-free period, while Huabei has a 30-day grace period. That is to say, as long as we repay within 50 days (30 days), there is no interest charged.
Thus, our daily consumption can entirely be made using credit cards or Huabei, and our salary can be utilized for a short-term financial management during these 50 days (30 days). The returns earned during this period are essentially free gains.
Take, for instance, a short-term deposit product from a certain bank on the current JD Finance platform, which pays interest every 30 days with an interest rate that can reach 4.3%.
If our daily living expenses amount to 5000 yuan, the interest earnings within 30 days would be approximately 18 yuan. If we can find a financial project that lasts for 50 days, with the same interest rate, the earnings could be around 30 yuan.
Although it may not seem like much, accumulating these earnings over time can add up to a significant sum, at least enough to cover breakfast expenses.
How to handle large sums of money with uncertain usage dates? Holding onto them is the least favorable option.
For example, if you are planning to buy a house in the near future and have already viewed the property, but you are still hesitating over some details.
Suppose you have a term deposit of 300,000 yuan in the bank that has just matured, and you intend to use this money as a down payment. What should you do to maximize your returns?Some people might think, "Just put it in the bank, you never know when you might need it."
In this case, they generally enjoy the interest rate of demand deposits, which is about 0.35%. The money in our bank cards is typically equivalent to the bank's demand deposits.
Others might choose to withdraw the money, as they will need it soon and it's reassuring to have it on hand.
This is the least recommended approach because, from a return perspective, keeping money in your own hands yields no income; from a safety perspective, keeping 300,000 at home does carry certain risks.
So, why not consider the following three strategies that are more cost-effective:
The first option is when you can roughly determine the date of use. In this situation, we can make a short-term deposit based on the date of use. For instance, if we plan to use the money in about 60 days, we can follow the aforementioned method and make a short-term deposit with monthly interest payments.
With a 30-day interest payment cycle, you can receive two interest payments in 60 days. With a principal of 300,000, you can earn an interest income of 2,150 yuan in 60 days.
The second option is to purchase money market funds. Money market funds are very flexible in terms of purchase and redemption, and the WeChat Wallet and Alipay's Yu'e Bao that we commonly use are both types of money market funds. The yield of money market funds is not as high as before, roughly around 2%.
However, the advantage is that there is no restriction of 30 or 60 days; you can redeem at any time, making it more suitable for situations where we cannot accurately determine the date of use.With a principal of 300,000, calculated at a 2% annual interest rate, the daily earnings would be approximately 16 yuan.
The third type is the notice deposit. This is also an option to consider, but compared to money market funds, it seems somewhat redundant. The so-called notice deposit is actually a special deposit service offered by banks. This type of deposit service does not have a fixed term, but it requires advance notice to the bank before withdrawal. Depending on the time of advance notice, it can be divided into 1-day notice deposits and 7-day notice deposits.
The interest rate for a 1-day notice deposit is roughly 0.55%, slightly higher than the current deposit interest rate, and one day's advance notice to the bank is required for withdrawal.
The interest rate for a 7-day notice deposit is roughly 1.1%, and seven days' advance notice to the bank is required for withdrawal.
Wealth management is essentially the accumulation of small amounts over time.
The above examples illustrate two scenarios for increasing financial returns in daily life.
Some people might think that it doesn't make much practical sense to be concerned with such small amounts of money, as one can't save much by doing so.
In fact, this notion is entirely incorrect.Investing and managing finances must be based on the correct mindset. Financial management is the planning of daily wealth, which is the accumulation of every little bit.
If one is thinking about getting rich overnight, that is not financial management; it is gambling. And approaching financial management with a gambling mentality will ultimately lead to no results.
This is similar to a small story: A teacher assigns a task to students, asking them to put one bean in a small bowl every day when they go home and to persist for a year.
After a year, when the teacher checks the homework, some students have only persisted for a few days, with only a few beans in their bowls; some students have persisted for a few months, with beans covering the bottom of the bowl; only a few students have persisted for a whole year, and the beans in their bowls are almost full.
This story is very appropriate when applied to financial management. Only through daily accumulation can wealth continue to grow; every bit of wealth in life needs to be taken seriously. If you look down on that small amount of wealth, you will ultimately be unable to accumulate a large amount of wealth.
Even if you get a huge amount of wealth through an opportunity, you will also squander that wealth because of this disregard.
Financial management is more importantly about persistence, and those who can persist on this path are often a few people.
