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Trips to the mall and dinners out are good places to start. Look at your budget to see where you might be overdoing it. Those include creating a rainy day fund with a specific amount of money in it by the end of the year, increasing your existing savings so that you have six months’ worth of living expenses put away, or raising your retirement account contributions each month by 10 percent, for example. Break that broad goal into specific ones that are attainable. What are some New Year’s resolutions you can achieve to better your finances? That’s about $200 extra a month, and with your budget figured out, you’ll know where the extra money is coming from. If your ultimate goal is to pay off your student loan, start by setting a realistic goal, like reducing the balance by an additional $2,500 by the end of the year. An alternative goal could be, with smaller, achievable goals: “Lose five pounds a month by implementing a safe and healthy plan to shed 100 pounds and keep the weight off.” “Lose 100 pounds” is a difficult resolution to achieve, and you might give up after not much time has passed if you don’t have a strategic game plan o f how you intend to work toward this goal. You have a much better chance of success with your resolution if it’s attainable. ![]() You might not think much about that $5 coffee you buy each morning on the way to work until you see it in the app and realize you’re spending $25 a week-that’s $100 a month-on something you could make at home and pour into a travel mug. Mark down everything-even the dollar you put into the vending machine at work. Once you’ve logged your spending for a month or two, your financial trends will become clearer to you. ![]() Goodbudget also helps cut spending, and builds on the concept of the envelope system, where cash is set aside in 10 separate envelopes (for the free version) for things such as groceries, entertainment, etc. It does not link to your financial accounts (so if you forget to enter a deposit or expense, it may not match with what you actually have in your account), but it does help cut down on spending. Wally is another popular free app for tracking money coming in and going out of your account. One of the most popular all-in-one personal financial management apps that syncs all of your accounts, from your checking account to your credit cards to your investments, is Mint. Start by tracking your finances using free budgeting apps. Most of us may know the figure on our paycheck each week or every two weeks, but it’s the lack of budgeting on our expenses that can sabotage the good intentions to grow our savings.īefore you can set a realistic resolution, you’ll need a clear picture of your monthly obligations, plus the extras you’re spending your money on. ![]() Unrealistic or vague ideas of our income and expenses will never provide a foundation to start seeing measurable savings. If that was your goal and you fell short, or if you are looking forward to setting that goal for 2020, preparation is key to success. A pair of surveys show that about 31 percent of resolutions don’t last a month.įor 2019, approximately 32 percent of survey respondents said their New Year’s resolutions were related to their finances. We’re finally going to achieve that goal, we tell ourselves. Learn to (insert sport, hobby or skill here). We’ve all made New Year’s resolutions: Lose weight.
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