What can you say about your financial state
last 2015?
The answer to this question can help you
get an overview of what you want to achieve financially this 2016 based on
actual personal instances and figures. Did you hit your savings goals? Did you
decrease your credit card debt or loan payments? Did you wish that you achieved
more last year?
Reflecting on the past year and taking
action can help you reach your financial goals for 2016 with more objectivity
and effectiveness.
1) Make
“planned” impulse buys
Seat sales? Sales on every corner of the
mall at all months of the year? That’s what gets most of us to make impulse
buys because we think we will be getting a great deal from it.
A great way to leverage these kinds of
savings as well as satisfying that adrenaline of getting the most bang for your
buck is to plan your impulse buys.
How to do it:
Set a budget you are willing to spend for
leisure for the whole year. Plan your destinations in advance with the time
frames so when you get hold of a seat sale, you can gauge if it fits the plan
you made for the year. If yes, go for it! If not, check out other couriers on
their seat sales.
2) Cut out
on unnecessary subscriptions
When you find an interesting product or
service, they usually give you a one-month, no commitment FREE subscription.
The operative word being free, we are lured into getting on free subscriptions.
The psychology behind this is beyond the utility of the product or service, we
develop an attachment to any possession we have over time. This is why most
people give an overestimate of selling price when selling their pre-loved
items.
When the one month passes by and we are
prompted to subscribe to continue using the service, we will be willing to pay
for the service which we voluntarily signed up for. We may lose sight if we are
really utilizing these products or services over time. Most subscriptions are
also low on cost so we have this thinking of “Ay, Php100 per month lang naman
ang subscription. Ayos lang yan.”
How to do it:
Schedule one hour within this month to
assess all the recurring subscriptions you have and ask yourself:
Can I live one year without this
subscription?
Is there a cheaper way for me to obtain the
product or service I got from this subscription?
How many times this month did I check or
use the product or service I am getting from this subscription?
Does this subscription help me earn money
by providing me resources or giving me inspiration to do my work?
By answering these questions, you should be
able to gauge whether these subscriptions are worth keeping and sustaining.
3) Go on an
automated savings plan
Even the most determined saver can get busy
with life and miss putting money in his savings. You can also miss putting in
savings when you feel obligated to make a sudden purchase before even stepping
in the bank to deposit your payment to the other account.
Automating your savings can help you avoid
unnecessary purchases and save you time because you do not have to do it manually.
How to Do It:
Sign up for an online account with your
bank so you can set-up an automated savings plan. You can also coordinate with
your HR Department if your company has a savings plan that you can use so
you’ll save money while working in the company.
4) Set a
target amount of savings by December 2016
Thinking about saving money is just the tip
of the iceberg. Making it happen is where the challenge lies, and identifying
how much your target savings is the next step.
Knowing an exact amount will make this
concrete and also make you realize how much you need to put aside per month to
hit this goal by the end of the year.
How to Do It:
The amount you will identify should be
based on your long-term goals. Is this for a new car or house? For an additional
investment in your portfolio? This should also be a realistic goal. A good
amount to start with is 10% of your net income. You can increase this over time
as your income increases.
5) Read one
financial literacy book per quarter
It’s not common to read financial literacy
books for leisure when you are trying to relax from a long day’s work but it
will help you get closer to your financial goals for 2016.
This can be from anywhere from general
personal finance to a specific topic in personal finance that you want to know
about.
How to Do It:
This depends on your pace and schedule. You
can block off time periods during the day to read 10 pages per day or schedule
one day to read the whole book. What is important is that you gain progress on
getting new information and you apply your learnings on improving your personal
finances.
6) Follow
international and Filipino personal finance experts
You can add value to your everyday social
media break by following financial experts who can give you tips, share
motivational quotes, and help you keep going on your journey to financial
freedom.
How to Do It:
Here are a few personal finance experts
that you can follow. You can set this to “See First” so when you log in at
Facebook, you can see their posts at the top of your News Feed:
Randell Tiongson
Marvin Germo
Lianne Laroya
Fitz Villafuerte
Burn Gutierrez
7) Stress test your emergency fund every quarter
Yes, you have an emergency fund. The
question is: Is it really ready for when an emergency hits you right this
minute? While this might seem negative to think about it before it actually
happens, remember that this is the main reason why you are saving up money for
an emergency fund. It is not for your big leisure purchases or for those sudden
sales in the mall that makes you compelled to spend more than you should.
How to Do It:
Assess every quarter if the full amount of
your emergency fund can support you to any of the following emergencies that
will call for moving it:
Hospitalization of yourself or any other
family member for 5 days or more
Losing your job tomorrow
Your car totally breaking down
Needing to have an international trip
because of an emergency with a family member abroad
8) Assess what you do from 7:00PM – 2:00AM
For most Filipinos, this is the time after
work when they rest and take a break from work. This may also be the time to
help you get additional income which may not be immediate but gradually being
built up.
Successful individuals may stop the work
once they step out of their offices but they do not stop learning and improving
their skills so they are at optimum condition when they get back on the hustle.
This could also spare you from spending money by going out with your friends or
officemates out of whim instead of planned get-togethers.
How to Do It:
List all the activities you do on this time
after work (which may vary depending on your work schedule) aside from getting
ready for bed and going to sleep. Do any of these activities help you grow a
side business, make you learn new ideas or skills that may get you promoted at
your job, or give you more information on building up your finances?
If it’s a yes to any of those
income-growing possibilities, then you’re on the right track. If all your
activities didn’t fit in to any of them, it’s time to identify at least one
activity that you enjoy on that free time that you can add to start achieving
your goals at work or on your finances.
9) Familiarize
yourself with the kind of insurance you need
Insurance is a financial topic that isn’t
top of mind when Filipinos talk about personal finance. While this may be an
unnecessary cost for most of us, this actually helps us save more money when
the need arises based on our coverage.
If you are the bread winner of the family,
it may be time for you to get life insurance. If you bought your car 5 years
ago, maybe it’s time to re-visit if your car insurance policy still gives you
the best coverage at a value-for-your-money price.
Having the right insurance can help you
avoid spending a big amount of money in case of an accident or death of a loved
one. Cliche as it may seem, prevention is always better than cure.
How to Do It:
Seek the help of a Registered Financial
Planner (RFP) who can help you make informed decisions on which types of
insurance you should get. Do not go into buying insurance and paying your
contributions every month without talking to the experts and researching on the
details so you don’t end up buying the policy that’s not suited to your actual
needs.
10) Sell clothes you do not need.
Most of us love the idea of excess since
this validates our financial capability and our satisfaction that we have
something tangible that came from the money we worked for but in reality, we do
not need 10 pairs of workout shoes or 20 pairs of heels so we can go on with
our everyday lives.
How to Do It:
Why not try the Oprah Winfrey Closet Hanger
Experiment? Hang all your clothes with the hangers in the reverse direction.
After you wear an item, return it to the closet with the hanger facing the
correct direction. After six months, you’ll have a clear picture of which
clothes you can easily discard. You can also apply this to other clothing items
such as shoes, accessories, bags, and more.
Through these financial resolutions and the
determination to do them and follow through throughout the whole year, you
should be able to reach higher financial heights by the end of the year and
build great financial habits that you will own for the years to come.
This
article was first published in Moneymax.ph
About
the Contributor:
Kyle
Kam is an online marketing specialist for Moneymax.ph . When he’s not working,
he’s at home watching sneaker cleaning tutorials the whole day. Follow him on
Twitter @undisputedkyle.
***
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