Money expert's quick five-step payday routine will help you stretch your wages

Personal finance whiz Kia Commodore has revealed a nifty five-step routine to stretch your payday pounds. Known for her savvy tips on the Pennies To Pounds podcast and website, Kia is the go-to guru for those wrestling with their finances.

In a TikTok video shared via her @Penniestopounds profile, Kia presents: "The BEST payday routine that you need for your finances." The clip boldly declares: "The best payday routine to maximise your finances."

To kick things off, Kia announces: "Payday is a great day for everyone, but having a good payday routine is the difference between splashing your cash all in one go and having money that lasts you until the end of the month. So here are the five things that you need to implement into your payday routine."

Her post lays out each step of the simple routine; here's what she recommends, reports the Mirror .

Set up direct savings transfers

Kia instructs: "Number one is to set up automatic savings transfers. Now this is something I've been doing for absolute years and it is a game changer when it comes to making finances easy for yourself.

"Just get a transfer sorted from your current account to a savings or investment account. Make sure it goes through the moment your paycheck lands. It's an effortless way to kickstart your saving or investing journey without feeling a pinch."

Create a bill calendar

Kia advised: "Number two is to create a bill calendar. Now, this is where you can keep track of all of your bill dates so nothing takes you by surprise.

"I like to set all of my bills to come out at least a day or two after I've been paid, so even though it's a lot of money going out at once I know where I'm at straight away. This also helps you to avoid any late fees and extra interest charge that you may incur."

Review and adjust

According to Kia, it's essential to review and adjust your financial goals regularly. "Now, much like the seasons, the things that you want to achieve with your money may change too.

"If anything has changed, this is the best time to make those amendments to your finances."

Create a treat yourself fund

For step number four, Kia suggests the establishment of a 'treat yourself fund'. She explained: "Number four is to create a treat yourself fund. Now, this fund is exactly as it sounds - money to treat yourself.

"So instead of dipping into your savings and dipping into money allocated for something else, this money is solely for wherever you want to spend it on, so this makes you allocate the small percentage of your money into your treat yourself on."

Track and reflect

Lastly, Kia emphasised the importance of tracking and reflecting upon one's finances. "Number five is to track and reflect on your finances. Now, we can only get better with finances if we know how we're doing and places that we may want to tighten up and improve.

"So this, you may want to create a spending journal to track how you spend, where you spend, and places that you may be able to cut back to help your finances."