Wouldn’t it be nice to worry less about money and focus more on financial freedom? A healthy relationship with money is freedom. It’s your time to make healthy financial decisions with your dollars by becoming aware of your values and choices! When is the best time to make these healthful choices? It’s your time. It’s today.
Determine Where You Are Now
You may say, “I want to be rich, but I can’t even get ahead.” OR maybe you feel like everyone else got the financial download except for you. It’s time to eliminate that kind of thinking and reach into a more proactive habit of proactive intentions and conscious choices. I can attest that you can have a healthy relationship with your money – regardless of your income level.
First of all, you need to know your current financial situation to create a new plan. Spend time looking at where your money flows in and out.
Create A Savings Plan
Need more money? Now is the time to consider other avenue streams of income. Is your definition of success $50,000 per year? Have more money than you need? If so, it’s time to manage your money more effectively to grow your savings. Start with an emergency fund that will provide you with additional income when emergencies such as appliances that break down, somebody hitting your car, or a rainstorm damaging your home. Life is full of surprises and challenges; therefore, this fund can be a lifesaver.
Honest Budgeting
You have reviewed where your cash is coming from and where you are sending it. It’s time to create a realistic budget. You have the opportunity to take charge of your dollars, direct you cash where it is most beneficial to you, and begin to pare down expenses where you see long term value. If money comes into your life un-expectantly, like a big refund, a raise in salary or a “windfall, remember to save some, make some investments, and splurge just a little. This is the perfect time to make healthy money choices. It is easy to overspend when you are feeling “flush” with extra money.
By recognizing needs and taking care of them, you will find that over time; you have more money for some those wants! That is how a healthy relationship with money can bring you more freedom.
Setting Goals for Healthy Financial Decisions
Goals are dreams with a deadline, thus setting goals to make your dreams come true to make you more likely to achieve what’s most important to you and bring additional freedom and confidence to your finances. Setting and completing short term goals for your lifestyle and bank account will encourage you to set some bigger goals for your future. Keeping your life goals as motivation, you will find your budget a helpful tool for making “things” happen.
Additionally, breaking big goals into smaller “mini-goals” helps you to accomplish much more over time. By automating savings into bank accounts and retirement plans, the money will grow with easily day by day. Taking care of your most essential items will also save you money. Maintenance is always more financially viable than regularly replacing material processions.
Lastly, focus on paying bills and making purchases without overextending credit cards. Utilize credit cards to make transactions more accessible, but be mindful that those bills should be paid each month. That is a useful habit for keeping balances down and saving all the interest that credit companies charge, as debt gets higher and takes longer to pay off.Â
Making Healthy Financial Decisions Brings Financial Freedom
As a result of setting aside time today to make healthy financial decisions, you reap the benefits of having additional funds when you need them. One of the biggest reasons people make bad financial decisions is that they let their emotions get the better of them. By being proactive, and learning to keep your cool, you will build a safety net with your emergency savings account, while seeing retirement and investing accounts accrue for your future. As a result, you now have the freedom to choose where your money goes. Those healthy money decisions have paid off for you. That my friend is what financial freedom feels like!
Learn More
Here at The Money Nerve, the main focus is to help inspire you to make a change and to guide you with new and more positive money habits. It’s your time to make healthy financial decisions and change your relationship with your money. To help YOU be your best financial self, we focus on education. Sign up to receive three illuminating worksheets to evaluate your current money habits, and you will also get the latest relevant financial tips and news for smarter personal finance decisions.
