“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
– Lucius Seneca
Yay!! This means you’re responsible for creating your own luck. The only blip here is that, achieving financial success usually takes a little more than just luck. It requires you to be disciplined and dedicated.
On the up side, research suggests that simply jotting down a list of financial goals makes you 42% more likely to achieve them.
Not bad for merely putting pen on paper.
Here are 19 goals to make this year for a good financial foundation
1. Build an emergency fund
No money goals are worth having if losing your basic needs and financial obligations becomes possibility.
- Unknown
To be honest this should always be number 1, The rule of thumb is that you should always have enough money to cover 6 months of expenses. Life is full of ups and downs, and since it’s near impossible to know what life will throw at you, it has become very important to have a little extra stashed away at all times.
So, don’t let any unanticipated expense tamper with a healthy financial outlook.
2. Get out of debt
“Today, there are three kinds of people: the have’s, the have-not’s, and the have-not-paid-for-what-they-have’s.”
-Earl Wilson
Let’s try getting from “the have-not-paid-for-what-they-have’s” and try and settle in “the have’s”
Now this is a very high priority, and it is quite paramount in attaining financial independence. Try not fall victim to the brutal loop of minimum payments and accrued interest.
Remember that delaying it will make it harder to eliminate it, the repercussions could be more annoying than the payments themselves and in a future post we will look at steps to getting out of debt.
3. Take up budgeting
A budget is telling your money where to go rather than asking where it went
– Dave Ramsey
We all know that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail so set up a budget and stick to it.
A good budgetary guide is the 50-20-30 rule.
50% goes towards essential spending
20% goes towards personal financial goals (saving or paying off debt)
30% is flexible for your wants
Remember that just because you can use 30% on your wants doesn’t mean you have to use the whole 30% on your wants, so if you’re feeling exceptionally frugal that month, throw in the leftovers into your personal finance goals, I promise you won’t regret it.
4. Prioritise your health
Your health is an investment, not an expense.
-Unknown
Choosing a healthy lifestyle can reduce your overall spending and keep you living a happy, wealthy life. You’ve got to prioritise your health, not just physical but mental health as well.
Having a healthy mind is just as important as a healthy body
Handle your mental health with just as much as a priority. Reduce stress, stay healthy, exercise, mediate, financial anxiety is a thing and take steps to handle it.
Remember health is wealth.
5. Organize your non-finances
Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.
-A. A. Milne
It’s time to organise those non-finances, by sorting out everything you own, you will be able to de-clutter and rearrange your life. Know where you are now so you can lay a good foundation for where you want to be.
You’ll know:
What you have
What you need
What you need to get rid off
And this helps put you in a perspective of who you were in 2018 and who you want to be in 2019
6. Start keeping track of your finance
Record management is knowing what you have, where you have it and how long you have to keep it
– Unknown
Since the facts say that just by writing down your goals, you are 42% more likely to achieve them, by tracking your spending you create a deeper sense of accountability. So, create a money journal of sorts, track your successes (and failures), learn from your mistakes, and identify areas for improvement.
7. Career Step up
"You've got brains in your head, You've got feet in your shoes, You can steer yourself any direction you choose."
-Dr. Seuss
"Invest in yourself. Your career is the engine of your wealth."
- Paul Clitheroe
Requiring 2 quotes, just remember anything worth doing is worth doing well
If you don’t have a job, try and get one.
If you have a job work harder and climb that career ladder
If you’re in a job you don’t like, wait it out till you have saved enough (start searching for a new job / your next step)
8. Eliminate expensive habits
A bargain ain’t a bargain unless it’s something you need
- Sidney Carroll
One of the easiest goals but this requires a strong will, so this calls for disciplining the mind.
Top tips
Wait 30 days before buying any wants
Sales are sales, but do you need that thing… really?
Sometimes healthier is cheaper; cut cabs, eat in
Cut out those irrelevant subscriptions
Remember turning down something you want may be hard, but it gives the sort of discipline you need to truly change your financial outlook.
9. Improve your credit score
“If you don’t take good care of your credit, your credit will not take good care of you.”
- Unknown
Given, this may be one of those long-term financial goals, however, remember it probably is not as hard as you would think.
If you do not have none, no big deal just ensure your target is starting a credit history and this way you will have the steps to get things right. If you already do have one try to attain a better credit score
Step 1: Find out your current credit score
Step 2: Pay your bills on time
Step 3: Track the days, use your calendar
Step 4: Use credit… Yes, keep on using it
Step 5: Monitor your credit
Now these are just bullet points and we will have a whole segment dedicated to “The Amazing World of Credit”
10. Start a hustle
“It’s important to be willing to make mistakes. The worst that can happen is that you become memorable.”
- Sara Blakely
We are currently in the golden era of social media, with over 3 billion active social media users and with these people spending an average of 2 hours on social media daily, you can build a profitable business just by gaining people’s attention.
Don’t waste it
We are so fortunate to live in an age of the internet, we have access to a vast amount of resources and with the current technological advancements, there are literally a million and one things to do to make money.
Starting a side hustle does not have to be expensive, there are things to do to make money on the side that can be started with little to no money. You could:
De-clutter and sell
Find your passion and create a course online
Sell your pictures
Paid surveys
Affiliate marketing
11. Save
“Do not save what is left after spending; instead spend what is left after saving.” ― Warren Buffett
Given that you’re budgeting to save, I guess this is sort of self-explanatory.
Set a savings goal for 2019, even if you don’t have anything to save towards, try saving for your emergency fund then saving more.
12. Invest
“When money realizes that it is in good hands, it wants to stay and multiply in those hands.”
― Idowu Koyenikan
Start investing, research and start small.
Give every dollar a job and make it multiply. Even if you are not ready to play with the big boys, put a little bit in bond or low risk mutual fund, while you learn. Read up on the 7 streams of income and you’ll be happy to start building even if it is just a trickle coming in.
13. Learn a skill
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” ― Mahatma Gandhi
If you’re actively choosing to stay the same – to do nothing to change your circumstances – nothing will change. The best part of this is that it does not have to be in line with your field, you could learn to draw, first aid basics or even learn that instrument you really thought was cool as a kid.
Nowadays you can become an expert in so much just by looking online, there are ample opportunities to learn a second skill and since this has no time frame, just take it at your own pace.
Perks are:
It helps improve your performance on several tasks
It helps you learn better
It can even help you stave off dementia.
Remember, complacency is the forerunner of mediocrity.
14. Network
If you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go far go with others
-African Proverb
Grow your network, attend conferences, go to the right places, ask the right questions, make your presence noticeable. Try and grow your network by 2 people each month this year. If you attend a conference don’t leave without 10 business cards
Make sure to follow up.
15 Expand your mind
"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest."
- Benjamin Franklin
Make it one of your short-term financial goals to read a good book or two – knowledge truly is power! Don’t just take it from us, there are lots of places out there to find quality information on reaching your smart financial goals.
Try and Read 12 personal finance books this year, starting with one a month and your life will never be the same.
16 Retirement
“As in all successful ventures, the foundation of a good retirement is planning.”
– Earl Nightingale
Odds are you have prime risk ability, you’re young, early in your career.
Individuals who begin saving and investing in their twenties have a better chance of reaching financial independence by age sixty than individuals who wait until their thirties to begin saving.
The sooner you begin saving, the more time you give your money to grow and thanks to a powerful wealth-building phenomenon known as compounding each year's gains can generate their own gains the next year.
17. Insurance
Would you agree that the best person to take care of future you is present you?
-Unknown
Insurance is like a seatbelt, understand its importance before something unfortunate happens. You wouldn’t drive a car without a seatbelt so why go through your daily activities without a safety net. Accordingly, make sure you’re covered, medical, car, home e.t.c.
It is better to have and not need than to need and not have.
18. Get financial literacy help
Sometimes asking for help is the most meaningful example of self-reliance
-Unknown
Getting financial help is more of a necessity than people believe, even if it means following a blog (please subscribe), asking a professional, hiring a financial advisor, meeting with a consultant. A little more know how never hurt no one.
Perks:
Proactive service.
Expertise.
Less stress.
Coordination.
Return on investment.
19. Take a holiday
I have never believed that vacations are luxuries. They are our necessities–just like shelter, clothes, and food, they make us feel like humans and not like animals that care only for survival.
-Alexander Babinets
Seems a little counter intuitive however its best for you to take a break,
A vacation doesn’t only mean travelling, take those vacation days at work, rest, have a few days and tune off the rat race. It will do wonders for you both physically and mentally, your mind and body need it occasionally.
A big regret for a lot of people on their deathbeds is not taking the time to enjoy what life had to offer, you’re young, take a break and take it all in … you only live once.
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