Earning a good income is important, but financial stability depends on more than your salary. Here are some helpful suggestions that could help you to increase your wealth and protect your present and future financial health.

Improve your purchasing habits

When businesses want to increase their profits, they focus on their margins. If they can reduce margin erosion (i.e. cut overhead costs), then they’ll maximise their profits. The same is true when it comes to one’s personal finances.

You already earn money from your job, but most of that money disappears on unavoidable monthly costs before it ever reaches your saving account or any potential investment opportunities for the future. If you want more available income for the present and the future, you need to improve your purchasing habits.

Cutting back on luxury expenses, for starters, is easy. It just requires self-discipline. You could even set yourself a 30-day rule. If you want a non-essential item after 30 days of first spotting it, you can have it. But if 30 days pass and the urge has dissipated, you’ll have avoided a wasteful purchase.

Of course, your essential costs are unavoidable. But that doesn’t mean you’re unable to improve your purchasing habits when it comes to the necessities in your life. You might just need to take another look at them. That’s why budgeting is so helpful. It provides a clearer picture of your expenditures.

You’ll be able to see how you’re spending your money and rethink your decisions. For instance, you might notice that your electricity bills are quite high. Perhaps you could insulate your walls and windows to trap heat and reduce energy consumption.

Or maybe you’ll notice that you spend a lot of money on food. Well, obviously, you can’t cut down on the amount you eat; that’s unhealthy (unless you just buy snacks). But you could save money by growing fruit and vegetables in your back garden.

You could also browse the internet for coupons to use in your local supermarket. By utilising these techniques, you could eat the same food for much less money. Improving your purchasing habits will help you increase your wealth and safeguard your present and future financial health.

Make some investments

You might also want to make some investments. This is a great way to increase your wealth if you’re unhappy with your current income. Your salary might cover the basic costs you face on a regular basis, but investing would give you the opportunity to improve your present and future financial situation.

You might want to start by looking at the property market. Investing in real estate is a great way to make money, whether you buy to lease or sell. Just make sure you get help from an estate agency, as that way you'll be able to work with a buyer's agent in the Southern Highlands (or wherever you're purchasing property) to make the best deals. Also, you should do plenty of research so you know you’re making a good decision before you purchase a property.

While there are a lot of potential investments that you can make, exploring a franchise opportunity could be an idea. This is because when you invest in a franchise, you tap into existing systems, brand recognition, and ongoing support, lowering the risks associated with starting a business from scratch. Whether it's in the food industry, retail, or services, a well-chosen franchise can be a good addition to your income streams. However, it is important to do your research to ensure that the franchise you choose to invest in is the right opportunity for you. 

Use comparison websites

Earlier, we talked about improving your purchasing habits. By budgeting smartly and learning to buy essentials and non-essentials in cost-effective ways, you can make your money go much further. But you might still be spending more money than necessary.

Even with a good budget and a fiscally responsible approach to your outgoings, you might be missing opportunities to reduce your monthly expenditures.

People often spend more money than necessary on services for their phone, internet, energy, water, and so on. If you want to reduce the amount of money you hand over to different providers (and increase your wealth), then it might be time to start using comparison websites.

The goal is to get the same service for less money, obviously. That might be easier than you think. Don’t just renew contracts without considering the other options that might be available on the market. And don’t just wait for a contract to expire before you start looking for deals with the same and different providers.

You need to be proactive. Hunt for deals on a regular basis. You might see trends with different providers; some of them will offer discounts during certain seasons on an annual basis. That way, you can hop onto a better contract when you see one.

Or, you could haggle with your current provider by telling them that you’re going to switch to a cheaper contract when your current one finishes. They might not be bothered, or they might offer you an even better deal. Either way, you’ll get a better contract.

Just do your research. By using comparison websites to browse the entire market, you could get the same mobile data, broadband speed, or energy for a lower price. You might want to check out this article on SMARTY vs GiffGaff.

It could help you to make a better decision when choosing your next phone contract. Additionally, you should always focus on what you need. Some providers try to encourage existing or potential customers to pay for bonus features or more extensive services that they don’t need. Get contracts which give you the data, internet, energy, and other services that you need.

Start earning money in your spare time

Another way to increase your wealth is to start earning money in your spare time. Perhaps your salary helps you cover the major costs you face in life, but you want a little more money to supplement your income.

As mentioned earlier, investing can help you with that, but you don’t have to do extensive research on certain markets to start making money. You could become a part-time freelancer. Maybe you could use your professional skill set to earn a profit online, or maybe you could use a different skill.

Maybe you’re a wordsmith; you could write marketing copy for clients. Maybe you like making music; you could create soundtracks, songs, or personalised birthday messages for people.

If you use a freelancing site such as Fiverr, you’ll definitely find a target market for all of those services. It suits people who want to make money on a part-time basis. You don’t have to be tied to clients; you can just take orders from customers and meet their requirements whenever you have the time.

It’s something you could try out, at the very least. There’s always the chance that your homegrown business might take off; then, you could do it on a full-time basis. It all depends on your ambitions for your part-time money-making project (or projects).

Keep putting aside money for the future

Increasing your wealth to protect your present and future financial health is about more than cutting your costs, making investments, or even earning a second income in your spare time. If you want to increase your future wealth, you need to keep putting aside money.

Every payday, you should put a fixed sum of money into your savings account. You might even want to set up a standing order so this happens automatically. That way, you don’t have to worry about spending money before you can save it.

If you’re wondering how this will protect your present-day financial health, then think about this: it’ll teach you how to be disciplined. If you have less disposable income on a monthly basis, then you’ll have to start being more fiscally responsible.

When you want to treat yourself to luxuries, you’ll have to consider how many “treats” you can afford before your next payday.

Remember, improving your personal finances isn’t just about covering your necessary costs; it’s about putting your disposable income to good use. Your excess income doesn’t have to disappear on luxuries - it could go towards investments that would increase your wealth for the future.

If you want to improve your financial situation in the long run, then you have to think about more than your current expenses. You have to think about the costs you’ll face tomorrow.