Let’s be honest, we could all be better at finances. And by “we could all be better at finances” I clearly mean I could be better at finances. Every year between Christmas and New Years I take time to reflect on the past year and decide what I’m going to do better (and by that I obviously mean what I’m going to try to do better). And I sent some personal financial goals.
My Personal Financial Goals for 2019
Now, if you’re anything like me, you have some seriously lofty goals. Take a trip to Paris (unlikely), see the seven wonders of the world (there are seven, right?), visit Disneyland monthly (definitely not going to happen considering I’m on the other side of the continent). But unlike my lofty dreams, there are some seriously simple financial goals you can set this year to start working towards a better financial future.
I’m going to give them a try this year and I think you should too!
Save More
It seems so simple, and yet… it never really is. There are so many reasons you should be saving a lot more – from needing an emergency fund (if you don’t have one) to being able to afford that cute house with the red door and the white picket fence and treating yourself to that Paris vacation you’ve always wanted to go on.
Whatever your reason for saving may be, this year try to both save more and do more with the money you save. Saving more is one of the best financial goals you can set yourself.
Spend Less
Equally as important as saving more is spending less. In fact, spending less could be the key to you saving more! Financial goals come in all shapes and sizes and as far as they go, spending less can be both one of the easiest and hardest.
Try to make small incremental changes, a few dollars here, a few there… soon enough you’ll have a whole wack of money that you aren’t spending. If you’re having trouble starting pick one thing like taking coffee from home instead of stopping at Starbucks or walking to the grocery store instead of driving.
Be Accountable
Watch your money! Seriously, do it. I am so bad for watching my money. I really only started doing it (on a semi-regular basis) when I started to work for myself because suddenly I had every reason to keep my eye on my hard-earned pennies. Before that, money was deposited, I spent it… nothing more too it!
Being accountable with your money is as simple (and occasionally challenging) as checking your bank account once a week or taking inventory of what you’re spending. And a great way to be accountable is to build yourself a budget and keep with it!
Reduce Your Debt
Reducing your debt is one of those great financial goals that you can set for yourself year-after-year until, of course, you have no debt. And once you’ve gotten rid of it you can change that goal to keeping debt away.
I get that people say there is bad debt and good debt, but let’s be honest… no one likes being in debt. So it stands to reason that reducing your debt would be a great financial goal for you to set. Especially if that debt is carried on credit cards. If you have credit card debt I highly recommend making your goal for 2019 to get rid of your credit card debt. Or at least get rid of as much as you can.
It might take you longer than one year to get rid of it, and that’s OK. But make it a priority so you can help build and grow your financial future!
Setting Personal Financial Goals
Your financial goals don’t have to be crazy. No one is expecting you to pay of $30,000 worth of debt, cut $1,000 out of your spending a month or save $10,000 by the end of the year. Make sure you set reasonable financial goals that you can actually achieve. Because if you set goals you can’t achieve, you’re less likely to set them in the future.
What do you think are great personal financial goals everyone should set? Share them below in the comments!
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Tae started out as a journalist before following the money into the corporate world. But it turns out that the grass isn’t always greener and now you can find her spending most of her time writing about all the things she loves. Namely, money, travel and business with a hefty dose of self-deprecating humor. She is a podcast fanatic, blogging aficionado and loves to find new ways to turn passions into cold hard cash!