Saving your Coins: 4 Steps to Planning a Better Financial Future
Sometimes getting a handle on your finances is the hardest part about being an adult.
Now you have to juggle things like monthly bills such as rent and utilities with credit card debt, student loan debt, and even unhealthy spending habits!
Yes, I said it unhealthy spending habits. You know, the Dunkin' Donuts or Starbucks coffee every morning. The Uber rides when you can very well plan ahead and take public transportation! The shopping-therapy that you do on Amazon when you feel stressed. The impulsive buying once you step out of your home! All of it...
What has helped me is making a plan. Don't get me wrong-- I'm guilty of all of the above. My latest guilty pleasure is a Medium Iced Caramel Latte with whipped cream from Dunkin' Donuts. Apparently, Corina runs on Dunkin'! I am that person who takes an Uber when I'm running late for a meeting rather than actually managing my time better. I get it. But at the end of the day in order to live better and do all the things we want to do like, I don't know see the world??? HELLOOOOOO, we need to do better about managing our finances. But here are some helpful tips for you to start off a healthier financial journey.
1. MAKE A LIST
I recently got engaged! (WOOOOHOOOOO!) And I find myself juggling with a lot of things at the moment. I am currently trying to find a new place, pay off my credit card debt before the end of the year, plan this wedding (LAWD!), and pay off student loans (you don't want to know how much I owe). Trying to do all of these things simultaneously is very daunting. Trust me when I tell you, but you need to prioritize. So, I made myself a list of the things I want to do from most important to me to least important. If you don't prioritize you will always have a hard time figuring out where to start.
2. CREATE A REALISTIC SHORT TERM GOAL TIMELINE
I'm an organizational freak guys (well to some extent), so after I've made my list I need to do something else with it. I mean come on. Ideally, its great that I know that I want to get rid of my credit card debt first and pay off my student loan debt last, but where do I go from here? It is not helpful to me to just prioritize without setting realistic goals for myself. After I've made my list, I then create a timeline for myself on when I can realistically accomplish this goal. For example, I have been working hard to get rid of my credit card debt by October 31, 2019. Because it is the first thing on my list, it should have the shortest goal. Because my student loans will take 10 years or more (oh probably MORE), that is the last one on my list (although I have short term goals within this LONG one-- I'll get to that in a bit). Once you have your realistic timeline, put it in a calendar or a planner so that you can periodically check your progress as time goes on.
3. MAKE A PLAN
No timeline is complete without a plan to execute it. Plan ahead how you will realistically achieve this goal. I repeat realistically because if its not realistic you will never get it done and you won't be able to reach the goal. For example, to achieve my goal of paying off my credit card debt in two months, I've set out exactly how much I can pay a month to get me to my goal. Make realistic goals and if you come across a goal that seems too far away to think about now try to make short term goals within the long term one to get you closer to your end goal in a meaningful way. It's never too soon to plan, or to work toward that goal!
4. EXECUTE YOUR PLAN AND BE FLEXIBLE
In some ways this is the most important of all the steps. If you have done steps 1-3 and fail on this one, well you're actually going nowhere. If you start your engine, pull up the GPS and plan your trip without actually driving you will stay in the same spot. It's important to actually stick to your plan as much as you can, but also to be flexible in the event that you can't or don't. Sometimes we think that everything has to always be the way we plan it. Life doesn't work that way. There are many twists and turns, especially in our finances. If you keep that in mind then you won't get discouraged when things don't go your way and you have to use money for some unplanned emergency or situation. If this occurs, just adjust your plan a bit. Move your goal to the following month, save a little extra for that thing you want to do moving forward so you can stay on track, pay a little extra on that credit card next month. Just make sure to keep working toward the goal no matter if you hit a snag.
These tips have helped me immensely. Despite the recent events that have changed my financial situation and plan moving forward, I have been able to organize myself and create a working plan that I have been following, and when I look back I can remember that last year around this time I was in worst shape than I am now. And I'm on my way to the financial stability that I want to have!
Now you have to juggle things like monthly bills such as rent and utilities with credit card debt, student loan debt, and even unhealthy spending habits!
Yes, I said it unhealthy spending habits. You know, the Dunkin' Donuts or Starbucks coffee every morning. The Uber rides when you can very well plan ahead and take public transportation! The shopping-therapy that you do on Amazon when you feel stressed. The impulsive buying once you step out of your home! All of it...
What has helped me is making a plan. Don't get me wrong-- I'm guilty of all of the above. My latest guilty pleasure is a Medium Iced Caramel Latte with whipped cream from Dunkin' Donuts. Apparently, Corina runs on Dunkin'! I am that person who takes an Uber when I'm running late for a meeting rather than actually managing my time better. I get it. But at the end of the day in order to live better and do all the things we want to do like, I don't know see the world??? HELLOOOOOO, we need to do better about managing our finances. But here are some helpful tips for you to start off a healthier financial journey.
1. MAKE A LIST
I recently got engaged! (WOOOOHOOOOO!) And I find myself juggling with a lot of things at the moment. I am currently trying to find a new place, pay off my credit card debt before the end of the year, plan this wedding (LAWD!), and pay off student loans (you don't want to know how much I owe). Trying to do all of these things simultaneously is very daunting. Trust me when I tell you, but you need to prioritize. So, I made myself a list of the things I want to do from most important to me to least important. If you don't prioritize you will always have a hard time figuring out where to start.
2. CREATE A REALISTIC SHORT TERM GOAL TIMELINE
I'm an organizational freak guys (well to some extent), so after I've made my list I need to do something else with it. I mean come on. Ideally, its great that I know that I want to get rid of my credit card debt first and pay off my student loan debt last, but where do I go from here? It is not helpful to me to just prioritize without setting realistic goals for myself. After I've made my list, I then create a timeline for myself on when I can realistically accomplish this goal. For example, I have been working hard to get rid of my credit card debt by October 31, 2019. Because it is the first thing on my list, it should have the shortest goal. Because my student loans will take 10 years or more (oh probably MORE), that is the last one on my list (although I have short term goals within this LONG one-- I'll get to that in a bit). Once you have your realistic timeline, put it in a calendar or a planner so that you can periodically check your progress as time goes on.
3. MAKE A PLAN
No timeline is complete without a plan to execute it. Plan ahead how you will realistically achieve this goal. I repeat realistically because if its not realistic you will never get it done and you won't be able to reach the goal. For example, to achieve my goal of paying off my credit card debt in two months, I've set out exactly how much I can pay a month to get me to my goal. Make realistic goals and if you come across a goal that seems too far away to think about now try to make short term goals within the long term one to get you closer to your end goal in a meaningful way. It's never too soon to plan, or to work toward that goal!
4. EXECUTE YOUR PLAN AND BE FLEXIBLE
In some ways this is the most important of all the steps. If you have done steps 1-3 and fail on this one, well you're actually going nowhere. If you start your engine, pull up the GPS and plan your trip without actually driving you will stay in the same spot. It's important to actually stick to your plan as much as you can, but also to be flexible in the event that you can't or don't. Sometimes we think that everything has to always be the way we plan it. Life doesn't work that way. There are many twists and turns, especially in our finances. If you keep that in mind then you won't get discouraged when things don't go your way and you have to use money for some unplanned emergency or situation. If this occurs, just adjust your plan a bit. Move your goal to the following month, save a little extra for that thing you want to do moving forward so you can stay on track, pay a little extra on that credit card next month. Just make sure to keep working toward the goal no matter if you hit a snag.
These tips have helped me immensely. Despite the recent events that have changed my financial situation and plan moving forward, I have been able to organize myself and create a working plan that I have been following, and when I look back I can remember that last year around this time I was in worst shape than I am now. And I'm on my way to the financial stability that I want to have!
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