Christmas has past and the new year is upon us. It’s a great time for some personal reflection. First, look back and think about last year. Did you have a good year? A worthwhile one? Did you treat people well and appreciate your family? Did you enjoy yourself? Did you conduct your finances in a responsible manner? Certainly, there are many questions you can ask.
Next, once you’ve reflected back, it’s now time to look ahead to the new year. With your goals for the next year and with your assessment of the past in mind, make a list of resolutions that you hope to achieve over the next twelve months. They can be personal or work-related. They can be collective goals for your whole family. What matters is that these resolutions establish objectives and guidelines for the upcoming year.
At this point, you may want to insure that some of your resolutions are financial in nature. This will help you be better prepared for whatever awaits you financially in the new year. To best do so, here are a few pieces of advice to keep in mind:
Plan Your Major Purchases
Do you have any major purchases or expenses that will take place this year? This could include the expense incurred by a new car, a new home, or a family vacation. It’s important that such capital expenditures work their way into your financial resolutions. You can do this by sketching out some of the costs. If you’re looking to get a new car, for example, you may want to look up cheap insurance quotes before you finish that resolution.
Consider Your Spending Habits
There are very few people out there who have no spending habits that they’d like to improve. Whether you spend more than you’d like on clothes, food, entertainment, or even household products, it’s important to note those areas where you don’t need to spend as much as you do. Then, resolve to improve this year.
Look At Last Year’s Budget
If you were content with the way your financial life worked last year, and if you expect to have a similar income this year, look at your statements and budgets from the past year and make plans for how to replicate them. If you weren’t content with your financial situation, have a plan for rectifying this. Things like “get a better job” and “pay less for gas” are certainly easier said than done, but you’re much more likely to accomplish your goals if you explicitly acknowledge them and try to work towards constructing a plan.
If you need to reduce expenses look for specific expenses to cut rather than just having a general idea that you just need to reduce expenses. Perhaps you can reduce meal expenses by bringing your lunch to work, or reduce cable expenses by going with the basic package. Often the best things to reduce are smaller on-going expenses rather than looking for one big expense to cut. Of course if you need to cut and you did spend $5000 last year on a Disney vacation replacing that with a week of camping at a local lake or other less expensive activity would certainly make sense. See: Money-Saving Ideas for Frugal Moms and Dads for more tips.
With these tips you can hopefully start planning your New Year financial resolutions. For the health and wellness of both you and your family, it’s important to go into the new year with a solid monetary plan.
Have a healthy and blessed New Year.
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