IT’S now February and for many of us, the excitement of the new year has worn off.
New Year’s resolutions, including those related to finances, may have fallen by the wayside. However, it’s important to remember that each new month, or even each new week, is an opportunity to renew our focus and recommit to achieving our financial goals for the year.
One of the most common financial goals is to save more money.
While it may be difficult to save a large amount all at once, setting small savings goals and working towards them consistently can add up over time.
Try saving $50 a week, or $100 a month and monitor your progress and try to increase your regular savings amount over time.
Another item on the annual wish list is to pay off debt.
If you find yourself struggling with credit card debt, buy-now-pay-later, or other types of debt, you may stress about ever being able to pay it off.
However, you can make progress by creating a budget and sticking to it. This can help you to save more money and pay off debt.
To supercharge your debt clearance goals, line up your debts from smallest to largest, pay the minimum amount on all of them, but attack the first with every extra payment you can find until it is gone.
Then move on to the next one, and the next one after that. Your momentum builds in this way, and the debts will soon be out of your life.
Last year it may have felt like an exercise in keeping your head above the rising tide of cost-of-living expenses and home loan interest rates.
A proven approach to making progress comes from the power of a plan. Imagine for a moment that you’re standing in front of an archery target.
You’ve selected a bow and you have the arrows on hand, but before you can take aim, someone steps up and blindfolds you.
You know that you’re facing the right direction, but you can no longer see to take clear aim at the target.
How do you think you’ll go? You may get in a few lucky shots, but generally it’s impossible to perform with precision.
The same is true when we don’t have clarity on our most important goals.
Making a strategy and establishing clear, measurable goals provides the clarity you need to win with money.
Break your goals into bite sized chunks and track your progress. This way you can confidently take aim at your objective and boost your chances of getting there.
If January didn’t deliver much financial progress, now is the time to start working towards your financial goals.
Each new month, or even each new week, you can start fresh and commit to whipping your finances into shape.
So, don’t give up on your resolutions and goals just yet. Take the time to reassess your goals and plan to achieve them. Remember, small steps taken consistently can lead to big results.
