When you are running a small business it can often be a struggle financially. There are a lot of expenses and it is not always easy to get enough money in to cover those and have anything left to pay yourself. This is why it can be a good idea to try to cut back on your personal investments in order to invest more money in to the business. Below are some examples of ways that you can do this and considerations as to whether you should do them.
Mortgage Repayments
It can be tempting to reduce the amount that you are paying off your mortgage each month. You may be able to have an interest only mortgage where you just pay the interest and nothing off the sum owed. This will keep costs down but is a big risk as you may find there is not enough money to pay back what is owed on the house when the mortgage has to be repaid. You need to be confident that it is worth the gamble.
Savings
People tend to save so that they have an emergency fund, should they ever need one. Using your savings to help prop up your business may seem like a simple and cheap idea. It is worth considering what you would do if there was an emergency though. You need to have some money somewhere to fall back on.
Insurance
Insurance may not be considered to be an investment by some people. However it is an investment in your health if you think about health insurance and an investment in your life if you think about Life insurance. Some of us have many insurance policies including home insurance, car insurance, travel insurance. We may even have insurance on certain items we own as well as pets and people. It is worth checking through them to make sure that they are all completely necessary. There may even be some overlaps with perhaps certain items having their own insurance and be covered in a group insurance as well. Cut out all of the insurance you do not use, compare prices on the others and check that the amount of cover is not too much. Do not cut it all out altogether though as this could mean that you are without essential protection.
Bonds
Bonds are a safe investment and people use them to help them in retirement. Cashing them in is a big risk because if you spend the money on the business, you have nothing to fall back on in retirement. Of course, if the business does well, then this should generate a retirement income or money that you can invest, but there is always the chance that this will not happen.
Stocks
Having stocks can be a great way to generate some income and build up an investment. They are risky though and there is always a chance that you will lose the money. It could therefore be worth cashing them in and investing them in the business instead. This could be less risky but it might be more risky. It is a decision that you will have to make based on your assessment of the risks of the two.
It may be that you leave the money you have currently invested in some items but do not add any more to it. This would not apply to insurance but it could apply to any stocks, bonds or savings that you regularly pay in to and maybe the mortgage payments as well. It is important to make a clear decision, having thought about it for a long time. It can be worth discussing it with other people, including perhaps a financial advisor before you make any big decisions.