Financial skills help you thrive in life

The ability to plan your spending and other financial skills will bring you peace of mind. They will help you balance your finances or save when you can afford it. You will also know how to use your savings when necessary. With balanced finances you can plan for your future with confidence. 

Hone your spending and financial skills and start dreaming of a wealthier future!

In order to make ends meet, you need to keep track of your income and expenses. When you go through your spending, you may also notice you have some unnecessary expenses. Cutting your expenses helps you to save and reach your future goals.

1. Make a 10-minute budget.
2. Watch the video (in Finnish) in which Pinkku Pinsku shares her ideas about budgeting
3. Start using a budget template, eg.
   

• Budgeting tips and the Martha organisation's budget template (Excel sheet)Opens new window
• Guarantee Foundation’s budget template Opens new window

When you start planning your finances, you should first examine how you currently spend money. If you recognise different situations and emotions, you can positively impact the way you use money.

See the video (in Finnish) with Pinkku Pinsku and think about your relationship to money:

1. Do I often make impulse purchases?
2. Am I able to put money aside?
3. How do I feel when I think about money?

How do our brains try to deceive us when we’re deciding what to buy? How does psychological pricing influence our shopping behaviour and how do we avoid the siren songs of seemingly “cheap” prices? 

Check the tips from Economist Olli Kärkkäinen on the video (in Finnish) and keep yourself disciplined when you’re suddenly itching to shop.

Many of us save to build a financial buffer or when we're dreaming of buying something valuable.

The sooner you start saving, the faster you will reach your goal. The most important thing is that you don't postpone the decision to start. In the short term, you can save money in your account, but in the long term you should consider more profitable options.

Over a number of years, your savings will accrue compound interest. For instance, the capital you invest will double in about 15 years if the return on your investment is five per cent. Try it our yourself and see how your savings will grow.

• Savings calculator that shows you the power of compounding
• Calculator for a one-time investment.

See also

• how you can save and build up wealth while paying off your loan 
  
• glossary of savings terms.

Small adjustments, like moving an invoice due date to your pay day, can make it easier for you to manage your day-to-day finances. It’s also worth preparing for unexpected expenses by keeping a few months’ income on the side, just in case.

Use the flexible features of your credit cards and FlexiCredit when your everyday finances are stretched. You can choose two instalment-free months a year or change the percentage of the monthly instalment on your credit card. You can easily apply these changes yourself in Netbank or Nordea Mobile.

By adding the FlexiPayment feature to your home loan, you can decrease or increase your next loan instalment or take an instalment-free month without having to contact us. What’s more, you can do this free of charge through Nordea Mobile or Netbank as soon as you see the next instalment on your list of payments falling due.

If you wish to make other changes to your repayment schedule, you can apply for a payment holiday of up to one year, during which you will only pay interest and expenses on your home loan.