Below are the top ten money habits of those people who are considered to be financially astute. Living by these habits can quickly improve your finances and make what money you have go further.

1. Earn more than you spend – this is an obvious statement but it makes perfect sense. If you don’t earn more than you spend then you either need to increase your income or decrease your spending. Do both and so much the better.
2. Work out a budget and stick to it – this can be difficult if you like to impulse buy but by doing it you’ll know exactly how much you have each month. Keeping within your budget will also mean you don’t get charged by banks and credit card issuers for unauthorised debt.
3. Keep a spending journal – write down and record everything you spend for a month and see where you can cut down and save money. Very few people realise how much they spend each day on small, insignificant items but keeping a journal can help you to notice bad spending habits and to fix them before they become a problem.
4. Plan for the unexpected – have a back-up fund available for emergencies if possible. This means that if the worst does happen and you get stuck with a large bill you won’t have to go into debt and pay interest charges to fix the problem.
5. Keep an eye on the markets – banks and building societies often change the interest rates on their saving accounts to keep up with the competition. Take full advantage of these changes and earn as much as you can on your savings. The same goes for credit cards but in reverse. Watch out for those that are offering lower interest rates and transfer large balances to them.
6. Play the balance transfer game – if you can get more than one credit card then you can continually transfer your balance from one to the other when they have a 0% interest offer attached. This means that if you play the game properly you will never pay interest on your balance and you’ll potentially save hundreds of pounds each year.
7. Shop around before buying – compare prices on products and services before buying them as you can often find the same thing for cheaper if you take the time to look. Financially astute people research their options thoroughly and save pounds in the process.
8. Shop online – online shopping has really taken off in the last few years and it is now possible to find thousands of products cheaper online than in the high street stores. In fact, some stores offer ‘online specials’ that give large discounts when compared to the product’s normal price – and you can still go and pick the product up from the store!
9. Switch providers when necessary – keep an eye on the prices of utilities, insurances, mobile phone contracts, mortgages and other financial services so you get the most for your money. The various comparison websites are great for this kind of things and it only takes a few minutes each week to check for new products.
10. Ignore the designer labels – designer labels are all well and good but they can cost twice the price of a garment or product that looks very similar but doesn’t come with the little designer tag. There are plenty of quality clothing stores that produce stylish designs but that are very reasonably priced and the financially astute know this.