If one thing is certain, it’s that this world is uncertain. In the past couple of years, we’ve seen the market go up and down drastically – all in one day. Right now, gas prices are lower than they have been in years. But, collectively, we seem to hold our breath, just waiting for the dollars and cents to gradually scale back up again.
When it comes to our finances, it’s easy to feel uncertain. After all, none of us really can know what’s around the corner. Are we saving enough money to retire? Will someone in our home get sick in the year ahead? Which car or appliance is on the brink of needing replaced?
Rather than throwing our hands up in the air and giving up on our financial outlook, there are plenty of positive steps to take to make this year your most secure yet. Sure, we’ll never know exactly what the future holds. But smart practices in the here and now can lead to a place to weather the storm when challenges do arise.
This year, be proactive. Complete these tasks and for a more stable financial future.
Up Your Retirement Contributions
Research shows that half of American families don’t have anything saved for retirement. This shocking statistic should serve as a wake up call. We’ll all someday reach the age when we can’t work anymore. Living paycheck to paycheck only keeps one afloat when you have an actual paycheck. This year, up your retirement contributions or begin contributing to an account.
If your employer offers a match program, be sure to take full advantage of that benefit. If you can’t trust yourself to remember to make regular contributions, consider asking your employer to take an extra percentage from your check.
Save for An Emergency
Into each life, a little rain will fall. No one enjoys paying for car repairs or braces or a new water heater, but the task is much easier when you’ve saved some money in advance. Saving when you already feel stretched can be overwhelming. To limit that anxiety, begin small.
Collect all of the change in your home and use that cash for your starter emergency fund. Look for broken gold or jewelry you no longer wear to sell. Unload that treadmill you’re only using to hang your dirty laundry. Put back $10 per paycheck. You don’t have to establish a complete emergency fund in one day, but you can do something to begin saving for an uncertain future. Aim to keep saving until you’ve hit at least $1000-$2000 – the cost of an average household repair.
Begin Paying Off Debt
This is your year. It’s the year that you can begin an epic journey of slaying your debt dragon. Most of us can’t pay off all of our debt in a single year (get after it if you can), but let me let you in on a little secret. There is no good time to begin paying off debt. There is only today.
Quit thinking that when the kids are grown or after the house is built or in just a few months, you’ll be able to start. Begin today. The debt snowball method helped us pay off over $127k in debt. Line your debts up from smallest to largest, regardless of interest rate and begin doing everything you can to slowly but surely eliminate the first debt. After it’s gone, roll that amount up into your next biggest debt. Make your efforts to pay off debt a top priority this year.
Shop In Your House First
Most of us have homes overflowing with possessions. In fact, there are entire TV shows devoted to our excessive collection of things. When you get the itch to make a run to the store for something new, begin by shopping in your own home. From decor to clothing, odds are good that you might have what you need already.
You may need to replace something or make a new purchase in the end. But it never hurts to begin by looking around first.
Move from Scarcity to Abundance
Your last task is a bit more philosophical. Money is emotional. Personal finance is personal. It’s easy to adopt a mindset of scarcity – that we’ll never have enough, no matter what we do. Fear braids itself to anxiety and before we know it, we’ve plummeted ourselves into negative thought patterns.
We have to adjust the lens with which we view money and our possessions. Move from a framework built on scarcity to one established on abundance. Sure, we may never live like queens and kings, but if we have food in the cabinets and heat in our homes, we have more than most. This year, each time you find yourself complaining about the stresses of money, list three points of gratitude. This simple practice can do more to move you toward a secure financial future than you realize.
One month may be over already, but the new year remains filled with potential. Begin taking practicing smart money habits. Someday you’ll look back and realize this was the year everything changed when it came to your finances. This was the year, you moved into financial stability.
Our new book Your Money, Your Marriage is now available! Be sure to check out videos on managing money together on Facebook.
My book is now available: Slaying the Debt Dragon: How One Family Conquered Their Money Monster and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After. You can also check out The Debt Free Devotional
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