Online Checking – How Canadians Use Online Loans To Manage Their Cash Flow — Hometown Station | KHTS FM 98.1 & AM 1220 — Santa Clarita Radio

Whether you have a business or just want to keep your personal finances in order, you should make sure to stay on top of your cash flow. This aspect of finance is crucial to ensuring that you can live without worries.

What is Cash Flow?

Simply put, cash flow is the money that comes in and goes out from your finances for a set period. Unlike your income, which only refers to the funds that are coming in, cash flow tracks both ways.

This financial aspect also allows you to monitor your financing activities and performance. For instance, having a cash flow statement helps you see where you get your money from as well as where you spend it on.

Why is it Important?

Cash is crucial for your finances, whether personal or for business. Having a positive cash flow means that you have more money coming in than being spent. Knowing this, you’ll be sure that you can pay your bills and cover other expenses.

Conversely, a negative cash flow is worrying because you won’t be able to make those payments on-time. You need to have sufficient funds to meet your financial responsibilities, which is also known as your working capital.

It doesn’t mean that you need to use cash all the time. The main point is that you should have more assets than liabilities and that the former is highly liquid. This means that your assets can be converted to cash that you can use to pay for your expenses. These include the cash you have on-hand, your funds in the bank, and even the money in your electronic wallets.

How Online Loans Can Help

If you find your cash flow to be on the negative end, you need to find ways to turn it in the other direction. For instance, you may have a Business-to-Business (B2B) company, and you need to pay your suppliers at the end of the month. You’ve sent an invoice to your clients, but they’re also waiting for approval from the higher-ups.

You know that the money will be coming in during the first week of the following month. However, you still need to pay your dues at the end of this month.

This can also apply to personal finances. You may have bills to pay and necessary expenses to cover at the end of the month, but your salary doesn’t come until the first few days of the following month. You’ll need to figure out how you can keep up with your financial obligations as you might end up paying the penalty or higher interest rates if you pay late.

A workaround for this dilemma is to borrow money first and then repay it once you have the cash. If you’re in Canada, you can find online loans Canada that can help tide you over until the next inflow.

Of course, you still have to consider the interest rates and payment due date for this arrangement. Nonetheless, it’s a viable option when you really need to take care of necessary expenses for a specific period.

You can choose from a lot of online loan types. Make sure to check the terms and conditions before you borrow from a lender. Be sure that you can follow through with this obligation to avoid hurting your cash flow even more.

Cash Flow Management Tips

If you want to avoid stressing out month after month, you should strive to keep a positive cash flow every time. While emergencies are inevitable and unexpected, there are ways to minimise your anxiety over your finances.

Here are some cash flow management tips that can help:

1. Stay on Top of Your Finances

First and foremost, you have to know where you get your income and how much money comes in regularly. This is relatively fixed for most people, except for business people and freelancers. The latter group’s revenue can fluctuate, depending on the number of clients that they have for a given period.

Nonetheless, you should be able to monitor your finances. Keep track of how much you’ll be earning and how much you’ll need to spend.

2. Develop a Personal Cash Flow Statement

You should create a personal cash flow statement that measures cash inflows and outflows. This document allows you to see your net cash flow at any given period.

Cash inflows include your salary, savings account interests, investment dividends, and capital gains from financial security sales. On the other hand, cash outflows typically encompass your rent or mortgage payments, utility bills, groceries as well as other lifestyle expenses, like gas and entertainment.

The net cash flow is the difference between the inflow and outflow. If you have a positive cash flow, it means that you’re able to pay your financial obligations timely and still have money left. Meanwhile, a negative one would imply that you spent more than you’ve earned.

3. Determine Your Spending Habits

Staying on top of your cash flow allows you to look at your spending habits objectively. Many people are unaware of where their money goes, so determining this aspect can help you identify areas of improvement.

You should also identify the medium of exchange that you typically use. Do you prefer cash or credit cards? If it’s the latter, you’ll need to be mindful of the interest rates that can accrue if you don’t repay your debts with the bank on time.

4. Automate as Much as You Can

Lastly, if you do online banking, most companies have a feature that allows users to schedule payments. This way, you can send payments automatically and not have to worry about missing your due dates. This is ideal for those who have regular income and expenses.

Conclusion

Managing your cash flow is important to ensure that you can come through with your financial responsibilities. However, there are times when you have a negative cash flow, especially during emergencies. Taking out an online loan can help tide you over for this period.

Do you have a news tip? Call us at (661) 298-1220, or send an email to newstip@hometownstation.com. Don’t miss a thing. Get breaking KHTS Santa Clarita News Alerts delivered right to your inbox. Report a typo or error, email Corrections@hometownstation.com

KHTS FM 98.1 and AM 1220 is Santa Clarita’s only local radio station. KHTS mixes in a combination of news, traffic, sports, and features along with your favorite adult contemporary hits. Santa Clarita news and features are delivered throughout the day over our airwaves, on our website and through a variety of social media platforms. Our KHTS national award-winning daily news briefs are now read daily by 34,000+ residents. A vibrant member of the Santa Clarita community, the KHTS broadcast signal reaches all of the Santa Clarita Valley and parts of the high desert communities located in the Antelope Valley. The station streams its talk shows over the web, reaching a potentially worldwide audience. Follow @KHTSRadio on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.