People get really weirded out about talking about money. How do you feel when you start talking about money? A little uncomfortable? Feel like you need to change the topic quickly? Perhaps you’re embarrassed or ashamed of your bank balance and credit card bill?

Here are some ways you can shift that uneasiness and financial shame to financial confidence, starting right now.

Stop hiding from your finances. This is step number one and is an absolute must if you want to become financially confident and get a good understanding of not only your current financial situation, but where you are going with your finances. If you’ve been hiding from your finances for a while, then chances are this isn’t going to feel good. But once you’ve checked where you are at, you can move forward and start taking control of your finances.

Have an emergency fund. You will never realised the value of having an emergency fund until you have one. A lot of always just kept a credit card ‘in case of emergencies’. But the thing is, that credit card is usually close to being maxed out so if an emergency came up, it wouldn’t help. Different people have different opinions on how much you have in there. Once you have that money sitting there, you’ll be amazed at how much stress is relieved. Knowing that no matter what comes your way, you have money sitting there to pay for any reasonable emergency is just so, so good.

Cancel your credit cards. If you are living on credit, then you’re adding to your debt. If you have your emergency fund, and you’re budgeting your money, then there’s no need for a credit card. Unless you truly are EXCELLENT at you always paying your credit card off on time, or that you get fantastic points and benefits from having a credit card and truly maximise it… get rid of them. It truly is possible to live life without one.

Budget like a business. What’s the goal of a business? To be profitable! We should have the same goal for our own personal finances.  For our finances to be profitable, our expenses need to be less than our income, and we need to either have no debt, or at the very least be working towards paying it off. This is why it is so important to understand our finances and to not live on credit (you’re not profitable if you’re living on credit).

Set financial goals, stick to them and achieve them. We all should have financial goals that we are working towards, but the thing a lot of people forget is to create a plan to achieve these goals. It’s all well and good to say that you want to pay off your debt, but how are you going to do it? Paying the minimum repayment will get you there, but how long will it take? Can you get there faster? Set your financial plan, work out the steps to get there, and make it happen.