Have fun saving money over lockdown, did you?

Sure, the distinct lack of expenditure over the past 15-16 months have been great, but things arestarting to get back to normal.With a return to normality,you’ll probably find your day-to-day spending is steadily rising to where it was before.

The next few months are set to be interesting ones from a budgeting perspective. Many rescheduled social events like weddings, stag and hen dos and other big celebrations that were postponed over the past year and a half are all getting crammed in close together. For those participating, that can rather quickly take monthly spending from next to nothing to an awful lot.

Indeed, summer is a classic time for unexpected costs to rear their head, but with this year especially likely to be a shock to the financial system, what can you do to deal with them?

Reasons your budget isn’t working

If your budget has gone from being watertight to looking shaky recently, these could be some of the reasons:

• You haven’t given it enough thought: Saving money over 2020 and beyond may have happened to you organically. By that we mean you didn’t make any budgetary decisions to generate savings, they just happened. Now that life is back to normal the associated costs come with it, so you might need to put more effort into your budget to stay in the black.
• You’re spending more than you’re earning: Again, this perhaps wasn’t a particular worry over the past year and a half with nothing to do, but that might have stopped youfrom thinking about where and how you’re spending your money. With every wedding, party or event you attend, you’ll be spending a small fortune.Those costs may well suddenly add up to more than your income on the month.
• You’re not budgeting properly for different categories: Now that a lot more recreational spending is back on the table, you may have to address your category spending and apportion more funds to having fun. That spending should come at the cost of another area, though, which is a key thing to figure out to get your budget in shape.
• You aren’t adjusting it: Summertime, and summer 2021 in particular, is always a period of higher spending. With holidays and general fun in the sun to consider, you need to account for that in your budget. Planning your finances to spend more now and save more later will help you to recover from the bigger spending months.

Building an emergency fund

Emergency funds are essential for dealing with unexpected costs, particularly if you’re getting to a point where you’re spending about as much as you earn again. Right now, you might be thinking about how next week’s stag do is going to affect your budget, but what if the boiler breaks down or a pipe suddenly bursts? Sudden, unanticipated but essential repair costs like these can send you into financial chaos if you’re not ready for them.That’s where an emergency fund can help.

You can build an emergency fundby aiming to set aside three to six months’ worth of living expenses. This might seem like a mammoth task, but if you put little bits of money aside gradually – as much as you can afford every month –you’ll build towards it quicker than you might think. Then, when a rainy (or chaotically sunny) day comes, you’ve got that all-important safety valve to keep you financially afloat.

Just remember to assess your finances and ensure you are only putting away an amount of money that will not leave you short.

Investing in cryptocurrency is threatening at the start because of frequent scam news. There are no doubt scams occur, and they will continue, but you need to choose cryptocurrency trading platforms wisely. Keeping security and long-term reliability as a concern, the following platforms are best for you.

Binance Exchange

Binance exchange is an altcoin trading platform founded in 2017. It offers more than 100 trading pairs between different cryptocurrencies. It also offers some fiat pairs only between cryptocurrencies. Binance deducts lower fees than other platforms up to 0.1% for both maker and taker. The fee reduces trade volume over the platform up to 0.02%. Besides these, if you want to trade through Binance, you need to learn more about it to make good of it.

Gemini

Gemini is the most popular cryptocurrency trading platform because of its security and transparency. As scams and hacking activities are very common these days, Gemini aims to provide its users will secure, reliable, scalable platforms to save their assets. Moreover, Gemini’s new user can win the reward of 10$ on depositing 100$ in his account.

BlockFi

BlockFi is a crypto trading platform that comes with the most interesting feature of lending to earn interest in your holdings. Alongside coin trading, you can borrow depending upon your assets. If you hold your tokens, you can win interest for holding them. BlockFi also rewards its users with different offers from time to time.

Kraken

Kraken is one of the most prominent global cryptocurrency platforms with a wider range of selected tokens and coins. It also facilitates you with margins, but you need to learn before starting your career here. Unfortunately, Kraken offers limited coins or tokens to US users, unlike internationals.

Robinhood 

Robinhood is an emerging crypto trading platform in the world. It has just bitcoins and ethers but aims to expand quickly. No doubt, it has some limitations, but it is free of cost trading costs. It can be the best option for you if you are new to the crypto world.

Coinbase

Coinbase is a prominent cryptocurrency platform in the US founded in 2012, just a few years after the Bitcoin release. It is a licensed exchange covering over 40 states of America. It is a very easy-to-use platform with higher liquidity and a wider choice of altcoins. It charges a higher fee than other platforms up to 2.99$ concerning Dollar values.

eToro

eToro started from Europe but now expanding to the united states as well. It offers a wider range of digital assets to trade. Most importantly, it provides a practice account that helps its user to understand the platform before investing.

Bitcoin IRA

Bitcoin IRA is a different crypto trading platform from others. In many exchanges and digital wallets, you exchange currencies and earn a profit, but you have to pay platform tax. Bitcoin IA is the best crypto wallet where your profit is in your account, and there is no tax deduction.

Final Note

There are many cryptocurrency trading platforms in existence, but you need to explore them before investing. Choose a secure, stable, and reliable platform to protect your digital assets.

Breaking into any field isn’t easy, especially now when so many companies have taken a hit from COVID and are in the process of changing their operations. New graduates are likely going to face intense competition in a job market filled with recently unemployed people, many of whom have serious credentials and work experience that makes them viable candidates. Downsizing on a more practical front includes reducing the number of entry-level employees, which could make a college graduate with no experience feel like they’ll never get hired.

Although you do have a six-month grace period to start paying your student loans, it’s natural to worry what you’ll do if you don’t find a good paying job by then. In the event you are still unable to lock down a stable income, you may consider refinancing your student loans to save money. Refinancing can modify the interest rate and terms of your loan to make them more manageable, especially if you’re not earning enough to even be financially secure. Before you worry about loans, though, here are three things to keep in mind while you’re applying to jobs.

Focus on Skills, Not Job Descriptions

If you don’t have any relevant work experience, focus on what you know how to do, instead. The goal of a resume isn’t to show employers what you’ve done but rather what you can do for them. While prior experience is always great, you shouldn’t let it deter you from really selling yourself as a talented, eager candidate. In the event your experience was not in a related field, try to draw out any details from your responsibilities that carry over. Align your resume to each job’s specific needs, which will drastically improve your chances of getting a callback. Avoid turning in the same resume to different employers; even if you only change the wording on a few lines, it shows you care enough to read what an employer wants.

Don’t Say No to Internships

You may think interning is for undergrads, but it actually might be your ticket to a full-time position. Interning isn’t for everyone, and if the gig is unpaid, it certainly won’t work for a lot of people. But most internships function more like temporary jobs, which means you are paid hourly or given a fixed amount for working a set amount of time.For recent college graduates, internships can provide the experience, skills and connections they need to qualify for positions in the field of choice. You may also find a mentor in one of the company’s employees who can give you insider knowledge and teach you things that you’d never have found out on your own. Many jobs also promote interns into employees if they perform well enough. So, it may not be your first choice, but if you’re looking for work and considering a part-time job anyway, it’s worth considering.

Stay Connected to Your Fellow Alumni

Your university’s alumni community will allow you to network with other graduates who have found work in your desired field. They can offer you tips, provide some sound advice and possibly even recommend you for positions in their own company. Sometimes, job recruiters even check out alumni groups at universities to find candidates that are available for immediate start. Make that point clear whenever you mention you’re looking for a job.