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Six Simple Ways To Reach Your Financial Goals

By Jesupemi Are
18 January 2021   |   3:29 pm
It’s the start of a new year and one of the most common things people do is make New Year resolutions/goals for their personal growth. Financial goals for the New Year usually have a place in most people’s list. But have you noticed that only a small percentage of people who set New Year goals…

Financial Goals | Image: The Daily CPA

It’s the start of a new year and one of the most common things people do is make New Year resolutions/goals for their personal growth. Financial goals for the New Year usually have a place in most people’s list. But have you noticed that only a small percentage of people who set New Year goals actually accomplish them? Here are some ways you can make sure those financial goals are accomplished.

Define Your Financial Goals
In order to achieve financial goals, you have to actually set these goals in the first place. Try to ascertain what matters to you. Write down everything – practical and impractical. Sort them into short term, long term goals, and level of importance. You will also need to set a specific time limit you desire to reach these goals. Make sure the time limits are as realistic as possible!

Track Your Expenses
The next thing you want to do is to track your spending. Once you start doing this, it’ll shock you how the smallest expenses add up to huge amounts. After successfully keeping track of your spending for a month, categorize them into groups to properly understand which type of expenses eat into your income the most. You can then use this data to cut down unnecessary expenses.

Create A Budget – And stick to it
If you want to reach your financial goals, you’ll definitely need to create a budget. Budgets are useful in helping you control the amount of money you spend. At the beginning of each week, you can create a budget for how much you should spend every day in that week.

In creating this budget, you might want to put into consideration things like your lifestyle and daily needs. Creating a budget is the easy part, sticking to it is where the problem usually arises. A trick that can help is to constantly condition your mind to believe that the amount you have on your weekly budget is the only amount you own. Creating barriers that make it difficult for you to access the rest of your money till the end of the week can also help.

Spend Less Than You Earn
It’s pretty simple really. If you spend more than you earn, you get into debt. If you spend exactly what you earn, you have no savings. But if you spend less than you earn, you have money saved up. If you’re currently living a lifestyle you can’t afford, now’s the time to have a serious rethink. Spending less than you earn is one of the easiest ways to get you out of debt and save towards your future. One way to cut your spending is to always reach for the most affordable options you can find. This might seem miserly but think about it; why eat at that really expensive restaurant when you can get equally amazing food at a cheaper place? When you go shopping, don’t just reach for the first product you see. Try to see if you can get a cheaper brand of that same product. Quality will still matter of course.

Save Like Your Life Depends On It
This should be the first thing you do once your income comes in. Saving money is easier these days with many saving apps that you can set up to make daily, weekly and monthly withdrawals from your account. To make your saving culture easier, simply set up automated payments from your normal account to your savings account. Saving is an absolute priority when trying to achieve your financial goals. You’d be surprised at how many of your financial goals your savings can help you reach. It can also be helpful for emergencies.

Monitor Your Progress
Make sure to review your financial goals and progress regularly. This will help you evaluate loopholes and decide whether to adjust your goals or even create new ones. There’s really no shame in slacking a few times, you only need to carefully address the areas you slacked in and determine to do better.

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