Improving your finances is not about making life altering decisions. You do not need to become the world’s most well-informed investor or to create a budget that is so strict that you live on nothing but potatoes. Healthy money management is all about those small steps that you take towards greater overall financial health. The end of the year is the time that many people think about changing their financial position for the better. If you’re not ready for a big resolution, you can make just as much progress by making several small decisions that are aimed at improving your finances.
1. Get Informed
One of the most important things that you can do to improve your financial standing is to be informed about finance. You do not need to become an accountant or find a financial guru. It is all about educating yourself in the places that matter most. The process of becoming better informed about your finances has two parts. First, you need to understand your own finances. Having a clear picture about where you currently stand is essential for setting and achieving your financial goals. You need to know what you have, what you earn and what you owe. This basic knowledge will have a real impact on how you look at finance. Second, you need to know more about the basics of finance. You need to have an understanding of the impact of good debt and bad debt. You also need to know about how interest rates can work with you and against you. Learning about the different options that you have for saving money is another good place to start.
2. Set Real, Achievable Goals
If you’re not already setting goals, there is no time like right now to begin doing so. If you are setting goals, there is no time like right now to measure your progress so that you can improve. Financial goals are important when it comes to improving your finances. These goals give you something to work for. They also give you something to measure your success by. Setting goals is all about setting achievable goals. To do this, you need to be specific in the goals that you set for yourself. Let’s say that your goal is to save money or pay off personal loans. You need to know how much money you want to save. You also need to know how you want to save it. Do you want to set up a savings plan to save $500 a month? Or do you want to cut spending to save an extra $200 for extra expenses? These are two different types of saving and you would use different methods of achieving each goal. This is why it is so important to make your goals as detailed as possible Do not forget to keep your goals attainable. An unreachable goal sets you up for failure and often hurts not only your finances but your attitude about money.
3. Take Your Time
Taking your time is one of the most important decisions you can make about your finances. Rome was not built in a day and your retirement accounts will not be either. Choosing to think about your financial decisions is also a multi-faceted approach. First, you should make sure that you take time to think about your purchases before you buy them. This helps weed out impulse buys and helps you spend money in a health way. One great way to do this is to put the item in your shopping cart online and if you are still thinking about it the next day, you may actually need the item. Secondly, you should take your time creating a financial plan. When striving to reach a goal, give yourself enough time to reach it. Trying to save too much, too fast is hard to do. Have patience with yourself and your bank account.
4. Eliminate Things You Don’t Use
Everyone has at least one bill that they pay every month for a service that they do not use. Whether yours is a landline, a gym membership or a subscription service that you have not figured out how to cancel, take some time to declutter your finances. Eliminating even one thing from your monthly selection of bills can make a big difference on your monthly finances. More importantly, it teaches you how to let go of spending habits that are not serving you.
5. Set Up an Automatic Savings Plan
Saving is important yet it is not at the forefront of everyone’s mind. You can make a decision to automate your saving plan to help make sure that it happens. Even if you only transfer $20 a month into a savings account, every little bit helps you build up a little nest egg. It also makes you more comfortable with saving. It’s a win-win decision. Taking these small steps towards prosperity can take your further than you’d ever imagine. Remember that you have your whole life to manage your finances, you do not need to accomplish everything today. Featured photo credit: GotCredit via flickr.com
