The beginning of a New Year is always the perfect time to improve your finances. It’s a great way to figure out how you can save more and lessen your expenses. It can even help you get out of debt and invest in your future more. Nothing can make you feel better than knowing you have a plan for success and reaching personal goals.
So here are a few simple ways to help you keep on track. Check them out and let me know what you think.
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Compile This Year’s Expenses
Take time and assess your expenses. Start by writing down all your earnings and then write down all your expenses from necessities to wants. This method will give you a clear look at your outgoing expenses, so you can know roughly how much you spend each month.
Make a Spending Plan for Next Year
Review your financial goals from last year, and assess if you were successful in meeting those goals. You might also consider whether they will work for you in the coming year or if it is necessary to make changes. Once you’re done analyzing, you can begin to create a budget for the next year.
Prioritize your needs, work out a budget and invest your money wisely. This will help you avoid unexpected payments and reduce expenses.
Pay Down Debt
If you have extra cash, make a large payment to cut down your debt. Create a debt payment strategy and pay down from smallest to largest. Whether it’s a credit card debt or a student loan, paying it off can make your life stress-free. The interest you’re paying on your debt can be better used elsewhere.
Establish an Emergency Cash Reserve
Make it a habit to always have an emergency fund. From major home repairs to short-term unemployment, these savings will keep you covered. And to consistently save up, after you’ve received your paycheck, automatically deduct money for your emergency fund.
Bank Shopping
It’s easy to get satisfied with your banking choices. But are they providing good customer service? Are you earning a good interest rate on your accounts? And do they offer all the features that you need? Ask yourself these questions and if you find them okay, then that’s great to hear. But if you’re unsatisfied with your current banking situation, then check out other local or international banks. List the features that you need and start bank shopping.
Reduce Your Fixed Expenses
Look at your expenses and reduce them to save more. One can be done by simply cutting out your cable bill for the channels you don’t even watch and unsubscribing to magazines or music streaming sites that you could get for free. Another idea could be to cut down on electricity Have a saving mindset and ditch all the unneeded expenses.
Review Your Insurance Plans and Rates
If it’s been a few years since you’ve reviewed your insurance plan and rate, then you might want to consider taking time to go over your documents to make sure they still reflect what you need.
If you have any changes coming in next year that you need to plan for such as getting married, having a baby, or buying a new home, this is the perfect time to shop around for new insurance plans and rates.
Invest Automatically
You have a great bank, you have an emergency fund, you have a budget, and your insurance is in order. But I think you’re missing something; your investments.
To consistently make investments, make it automatic by making arrangements with your bank. They’ll be deducting the amount periodically and transferring it to an investment account. This way you can grow your investments without even thinking about it.
Find Free Entertainment
Who says living a frugal life means skipping days to be with family and friends? Seriously, you can still go out and have fun without breaking the bank by simply finding free activities in your local area. From free concerts, outdoor movies, and art shows, you can still go out and save money in the process.
Whether it’s the New Year or any other time of the year, getting your finances in order is always a great idea. And besides giving you financial freedom, planning and securing your finances will definitely give you a better life. So choose any of these ten amazing ideas, apply them to your situation, and make your life easier. Now let me know what you think!
Now if you have any questions about these personal finance hacks, comment down below. I’d love to help you out!
