You might have guessed by now, but the Emma team is pretty nifty when it comes to managing their money. We caught up with four members of the team to find out what their #1 money tip is.

Bekki - Junior Marketing Manager

I think there are lots of little things you can do to improve your finances, but my number 1 money management tip is to create a good payday routine.

A payday routine is basically just a set of actions I complete on payday that ensures I’m in control of my finances and are utilizing every penny of my paycheck. For example, money will automatically transfer from my current account into separate savings, bills and everyday spending accounts as soon as I've been paid.

This means I never have to worry about having enough money to pay my bills. It means I know exactly how much money I can spend that month. And it means I’m never tempted to spend the money that I should be saving.

Ed - Growth

I don’t have any specific money tips but one thing that’s helped me a lot over the years is to invest whatever’s leftover from my budget at the end of each month just as I get paid.

There’s a common misconception that investing is only for rich people. A lot of people also think you should wait to get a good sum before you look into it seriously. But by putting a little bit each time, not only do you take advantage of compounding interest, you also mitigate the risk of buying into volatile assets (think stocks, crypto…) as you’re getting in bit by bit.

Finally, it’s a great way to start following the markets, learn, and revise your strategy as you go. Just make sure you have your bills covered and that you’re using the right investment platforms so you don’t overpay on fees :)

Joel - Support

Saving money is similar to weight-loss. You need a sustainable, enduring plan otherwise you’ll revert back to square one.

Self-control and determination tends to come in bursts and so applying the catch-all “I need to be better with money” will only get you so far.

When you feel motivated, find out where your money weaknesses are and mitigate them with ways that don’t require much effort from you. For example:

• Confused with all your money in place? Open another bank account and set up an automatic payment so your bills money is sent here automatically when you’re paid
• Know nothing about investing? Find an investment app that manages your investments for you - like Nutmeg
• Can’t kick your morning coffee habit? Find a bank that offers round-up savings features so you save while you spend
• Can’t resist a late-night spending spree? Make eBay your new best friend

When you enviably lose motivation, you’ve set yourself up so your money is working for you automatically rather than the other way around.

Trust me, while you’re sitting on the sofa eating chicken nuggets at 2 am, you’ll thank ‘past’ you for doing the hard work.

Mahin - Performance Marketing

I’m still figuring out and learning new ways to manage my money better and save/invest more efficiently - so I may not provide the best tip, but one thing that’s worked well for me is to pay all my expenses as early as possible.

If you can, try to align your direct debits and bills to be paid immediately after payday (ideally at the same time). For all other essential expenses (like food shopping), you can also try to get that done at a similar time.

This forces you to prioritise your expenses as it’s the first thing to come up after you get paid, but it also allows you to not worry about them for the remainder of the month.

You can then easily allocate the rest of your money elsewhere (savings, investments, etc) without having to think about your expenses.

If you've enjoyed reading these top money tips from some of the Emma team then let us know! Alternatively, you can find out more about the Emma team by reading our team interviews here. Next week we'll be chatting with more Emma team members, including the co-founders Edoardo & Antonio, so keep your eyes peeled!