5 Ways to Protect Personal Finances as a Business Owner -

5 Ways to Protect Personal Finances as a Business Owner - As a business owner, you may be prioritizing your business finances over your personal finances to ensure the success of your business. However, in order to have a stable lifestyle and support your family, you should know the best ways to protect your personal finances even as a business owner. This is especially important if you have used your personal finances in order to fund your business’s start-up potential. Consolidate Debt If you have used your personal finances to help pay for your business and this has left you in debt, the best action that you can take is to consolidate your debt. This can help to protect your personal finances in the future by allowing you to focus only on one bill each month, enabling you to pay this back easier and lowering the interest that you have to pay. You can consolidate your personal debt by taking out small loans, which you will then repay on a monthly basis, helping you through the difficult initial period of setting up a business. Set Up a Retirement Fund You can also protect your personal finances as a business owner by deciding to set up a retirement fund. Many business owners believe that they are not entitled to a retirement fund due to the fact that they are not employed, or believe that they will not be able to pay enough into this fund to make it worthwhile. However, there is a great variety of pension plans available that allow you to donate as much or as little as you would like each month. You should make sure that this retirement fund reflects your current financial situation, donating more into the fund when you are in profit. This will help to protect your personal finance if your business goes bust or if you are unable to run it during old age. Contact a Financial Advisor You can also protect your personal finances by contacting a financial advisor who can discuss with you any areas of your personal and business finances which are dragging on your ability to support your family. They will help to give you advice on how to run your business while supporting your family, such as separating your personal and business finances, and areas of expenditure that you are able to cut down on. Invest in Insurance Business owners should also invest in business insurance with a reputable brand such as AXA.  This can help to protect your personal wealth and your family by ensuring that if there are claims made against your business, or if it gets damaged, this will not affect your personal finances as the insurance will be able to cover the expenses necessary, such as legal aid. You should also make sure that you never use personal assets such as your house as collateral for your business. Create an Emergency Fund However, even if you follow all of these tips, it is possible that your business could put a strain on your personal assets in the future. If this occurs, you should have an emergency fund of over three months profits to ensure that you can stabilize your finances during this difficult time.