When you are unsure about your finances, it usually means you are unable to do some of the things that matter to you most. You may not be able to know when or buy that designer bag. According to a recent survey, many Americans aim to reach financial security by retirement. However, a few can reach that goal. With the holidays approaching, I want to share five ways to master your money this year. So, how can you master your money for good before the end of this year? Here are the five ways to do so.
Set A Specific Time To Review Your Money
Recent research revealed that Americans spend less than 3 mins a day to review their finances. If you want to master your finances, you have to spend time and, it should be more than 3 minutes daily to track your expenses and identify ways to improve. If you don’t have a budget, this becomes difficult. Creating a budget not only allows you to track your expenses, but it can also help you to identify the areas to improve. If you want to retire at a specific age, it is imperative to spend more time reviewing your finances.
Create Specific Financial Goals
Setting goals gives you purpose, and they serve as a guide. The same applies here. If you don’t have a specific money goal in mind, chances are you will spend your it anyhow. The goals you set should be SMART, Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-based. Your goals should also include short and long-term objectives. Instead of saying, I want to save for retirement, or I want to buy a brand new car, you should write down the exact age you want to retire and how much money you have to start saving each week or month to reach that goal. Also, think about investing some of that savings to help you to get to that goal faster.
Create A budget
The next thing to do to master your money this year is to create a budget. Your budget has to be detailed enough to allocate money to reach the financial goals you set. It has to contain all sources of income and expenses as well as long term and short term financial goals. You can click here to download my budget worksheet to get started. Creating a budget is one of the ways to stay on track of your expenses while achieving your goals.
Technology has made our lives so much easier these days. We have many things at our fingertips these days. Once you create a budget, you can automate the allocation so that you don’t have to manage where your money is going every month. When you allocate money to go into a specific account for retirement, emergency funds or, vacation fund, set up automatic transfers so that everything is in order.While automatic transfers are great, make sure you are checking your bank account often to avoid any overdraft until you have complete control of your budget.
Track Your Progress
One of my favorite things about creating a budget is the ability to track your progress. Once you have mastered the four ways above, it is necessary to track how you are doing. Check your bank statements frequently and your savings to see the growth. Pat yourself on the back and celebrate small wins. If you can follow these five ways, you are well on your way to mastering your finances this year. You have to be intentional about your spending. Set realistic goals, goals that are achievable and measurable. We have less than three months until the end of the year. Now is the time to take control and beyond.
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