10 ways to use your cash wisely

While the worst of the global financial crisis may be over, the fallout remains. For the next year or two, economies will shrink and unemployment will rise globally. This is a good time to be prudent with your spending, but how to do it?

Here are 10 tips from time.com to make sure you have enough in the bank to keep you going.

1. Hold on to your cash: When the markets are down, the time to invest may come sooner than you think. Holding on to savings will put you in a prime position to make money later on.
2. Find something to cut: There are always ways to save money. Bringing lunch to work rather than buying, cutting back on dry cleaning, downgrading a home internet plan. Various small initiatives can add up.
3. Pay off debt: The sooner you pay off debt, the sooner you can start investing.
4. Make sure your money is safe: As the last two months have shown us, banks are not perfect and can fail. Make sure your money is guaranteed; but with the government’s guarantee on bank deposits for the next three years, that shouldn’t be a problem.
5. Diversify internationally: Spreading your savings around stocks, bonds and in foreign markets. If the dollar plunges further, these can offer a buffer if things get really tough.
6. Refinance your mortgage: While interest rates are set to fall for the foreseeable future, you may want to look at setting in a fixed rate to rely on a predictable pattern of repayments, especially during economic uncertainty.
7. Don’t panic: No one knows what is going to happen, so don’t make any moves that could harm you later on. Don’t sell your assets in a rush without thinking about it.
8. Check your credit card rate: Try and haggle down to a lower rate if possible – sometimes it works.
9. Check your most recent bank statement and brokerage statement for accuracy: Always check for errors, as these may be the first signs of trouble ahead.
10. Become your own bank: If you find yourself in a position to pay, offer loans to family or friends.