Another year is finally coming to an end, and if you didn’t quite manage to achieve your financial goals in 2017 – don’t panic, there’s always another opportunity to try again.
The truth is that most people don’t actually accomplish their New Years resolutions, particularly when their goals are linked to money. One of the main reasons for this is that many people don’t plan their path to success properly at the start of the year, meaning that they end up falling off the wagon or getting lost somewhere along the way.
Here, we’re going to look at some of the financial New Year’s resolutions everyone should be thinking about at this time of year, and what you can do to improve your chances of success.
1. Start Budgeting
If you haven’t already been living your life on a budget, then now is the best time to start. Budgeting is one of the most important things you can do when it comes to achieving financial success. There are plenty of people out there who make a lot of money, but they still end up being broke at the end of the day because they don’t know how to manage the money they get.
Setting a budget for yourself and your family can be complicated at first, but you should find that the process becomes a lot easier when you get into it. Remember, you’ll need to start by figuring out where you spend your money each month, then you can look for places to cut down.
2. Get Out of Debt (or Make Managing It Easier)
Obviously, one of the most important things you can do if you want to regain control over your finances is figure out how to get out of debt. The more you focus on getting your spending habits under control, the easier getting out of debt should become. Once you’re free, you’ll be able to focus on really enjoying your money, instead of worrying about interest rates.
For a little help getting your debt under control, it might be helpful to consider a loan to consolidation your existing ones. This allows you to move all your debts into one place, so you can focus on paying back one bill at a time, instead of several. You might spend less on interest overall too!
3. Start Saving for Emergencies
Saving is another important factor to think about when it comes to achieving financial success. Ideally, you’ll want to be keeping hold of at least 10% of your income every month – and that money will quickly start to add up. Remember, you’ll want to save that amount alongside your retirement contributions, as this will give you a good emergency fund to fall back on if something unexpected happens.
Typically, saving money is all about finding ways to control your excess spending. For instance, you could stop eating out as often, or look for ways to save money on your utilities by switching your gas and electric providers for someone new.
4. Learn the Basics about Money
If you talk to most financial advisors, they’ll say that we should start learning about money when we’re still in school. Unfortunately, lessons about how to manage your finances aren’t as common as they should be, so it’s important to find ways to supplement your education if you don’t know much this year.
The good news is that there are plenty of books and websites out there that can help you to get a better basic understanding of how to manage your finances if you’re already struggling. Additionally, you can even consider signing up for personal finance class or speaking to a money management expert.
5. Start Investing Early
Finally, a time will come when you want to stop simply saving your money, and start making the extra money you have work for you. This means thinking about investing and how your investments can grow your cash at a faster rate. Of course, there are risks involved when it comes to investing your money, and you should make sure you know as much as possible about the marketplace before you get started, there are loads of great Stock Apps to check out for great information about trading.
Think about speaking to an investment expert if you want to get started, or simply start reading a few articles online. The more you know about investment, the faster you can start to make a real difference to your finances. Ideally, you shouldn’t start pushing your money into any investment vehicles before you’ve spoken to a financial planner, but you can always begin by improving your education if you’re not ready to speak to someone yet.