How to Unf*ck Your Finances a Little Bit Each Day

JO STEWART

BUILD AN EMERGENCY FUND

Cars break down, jobs can be lost, and dogs need to visit a vet when they locate and destroy your chocolate stash. Life emergencies will crop up, but how are you placed to pay for them? Having a healthy emergency fund to cover these situations is essential to your financial and emotional health. With a solid emergency fund in your arsenal, you’ll be able to avoid costly high interest credit card debt and even worse, predatory payday loans. The peace of mind that comes with having a financial buffer to cover unforeseen events is priceless. So give yourself some breathing space by building a fund to cushion yourself from life’s blows. And nope, a trip to Coachella doesn’t quality as an emergency.

SLAY YOUR BILLS

While it’s tempting to pretend like your phone bill doesn’t exist or that parking ticket was just a bad dream, it’s better to accept it and pay up – pronto. Late payment fees add up, and every time you put off paying bills, you’re wrecking your credit score. If you’re in the habit of paying your bills late for no good reason, then wise up and slay those suckers as soon as you get them. By doing this you’ll save money on late payment fees, keep your credit score healthy and relieve the mental load associated with having your electricity cut off or debt collection agencies hounding you. If you genuinely can’t pay a bill on time, call the company to negotiate a payment plan or get an extension. Either way, addressing the situation almost always leads to a better outcome than burying your head in the sand and hoping the bill will magically disappear (because sadly, we all know, it won’t). BUY IN BULK

It almost always works out cheaper to buy larger quantities of food and common everyday items. While this sucks for single people who live alone and don’t want a 10kg bag of rice haunting their pantry for a year, with a little meal prepping and menu planning, bulk items can be used to your financial advantage. Sure, if you’re on a budget, it’s tempting to buy the smallest (and cheapest) option on the supermarket shelf, but if you compare the price per gram or pound, you’ll find the smaller sizes to be the most expensive. Better still, hit the stores that specialise in selling bulk foods to stock up on large quantities of nutritious ingredients like oats, lentils, beans, rice, nuts and canned tomatoes. You’ll need to play a little pantry Tetris to squeeze them all in, but your bank balance will be healthier for it.

54 55

PROTECT YOURSELF FROM STDS

You may know how to protect yourself from HPV, but there’s another STD you need to be aware of: Sexually Transmitted Debt. Falling in love is a wonderful feeling, so wonderful that we can make decisions that aren’t in our best interests. In the early stages of romance your hormones run wild, so it’s easy to see the object of your affection through rose-colored glasses. This is where things can get tricky (and costly). If your lover is asking to borrow money, co-sign on a car loan, or become an authorised user on your credit card, think long and hard before agreeing. Because when the thrill is gone, you may end up saddled with their debt. It’s an expensive lesson to learn, but one that you can avoid if you’re strong enough to set boundaries and protect your credit, at all costs.

52 53

100 SMALL CHANGES FOR A BETTER FUTURE

JO STEWART

Let’s face it: when it comes to money, there’s way more to worry about than whether we’ll ever afford a house. Like how to make money stretch when you’re living paycheck to paycheck. Or how to not spend so much at the grocery store. And where the hell that $500 just went.

Understanding money is overwhelming—even the economic experts don’t agree! Luckily, you don’t need a master’s in finance t o s tart u nf * cking y our w allet. Instead, it’s all about the small steps we can take every day to be more mindful with our money.

Whether you’ve already started a retirement account or you’ve got credit card debt, Jo Stewart has answers about how to still enjoy the weekend without wondering where rent’s going to come from. From changes we can make at home, like saving on energy bills, and in the store, like understanding when not to use a credit card, she will help you get back in the black and stop stressing about that hole in your pocket.

Jo Stewart is a writer and editor whose words and images have been published in The Age, International Traveller, Canadian Geographic, VICE, The Telegraph (UK), Metro (UK), and The Times (UK). From filming stories from a yacht in Antarctica to writing features from a swag in an Australian desert, she has worked on expeditions to some of the world’s most isolated, places, including Shackleton: Death or Glory, a documentary project screened on Discovery Channel, SBS, and PBS. She has previously published How to Unf*ck the Planet a Little Bit Each Day with Smith Street Books.

108 pages, 6M x 8N” 108 color illustrations HC: 978-1-92-241763-3 $16.95 Can: $22.95 March 1, 2022 Rights: US, Canada, Latin America, Asia S M I T H S T R E E T B O O K S