Financial Resolutions for Millennials

Fitness, career, relationship – New Year’s resolutions fit in all the categories. Although one that gets ignored the most is the Financial Resolution. Just like any other resolution, taking small steps at the start of the year can really create a bigger impact in years to come. After all it’s about the money –the key that improves other aspects of life. But all this can fall in place, only if the person is committed. As Millennials – the focused bunch, the dedicated bunch, the ‘go-make-a-big-difference’ thinker this shouldn’t be a hard task. So for you, we have handpicked few significant financial resolutions that can truly help you getting your financial health in place this year. Dive in!

Save first – Make it a habit

As a millennial with a first job in hand, this should be your foremost motto – saving. Instead of trying to put large sums of money away at once, try taking a little bit of money out of each of your paychecks regularly (start of the month). Have a recurring deposit, or dedicate a bank account just for savings purpose. Starting from January, try to set calendar reminders for every month so that you can remember to save and invest regularly.

Have what you need, shop what you really want

Before you check out to pay (online and offline), take a glance at your cart and ask yourself – do I really need this? Does it make sense to buy in bulk? What kinds of sales are offered for these items?
Are there any alternatives? Can this purchase wait for couple of months? May be you can buy more when the ‘discount’ season is on. Ask these important questions and you will find yourself reducing half of the items from the cart.
Avoid impulse buying. Your pocket will thank you. So, this year, focus on checking all the items before you make a purchase – even if it means spending more time emptying than filling your cart.

Learn How to Cook / Hire a Cooking Hand

Ordering food has now turned into ‘digital shopping’. You visit multiple apps, pick the deals and order breakfast, lunch, dinner and what not! Although your tummy gets happy in the whole process, your body and wallet feel otherwise. So instead of burning a hole in your pocket, why don’t you put in a bit of effort to learn the art of cooking or hire a helping hand, even better! The amount that you can spend in your homemade meals is drastically cheaper than the prices of their comparable restaurant versions. So, this year indulge in a bit of cooking or have a friend show you the basics or get a helping hand – you could end up saving hundreds and eating healthier, too!

Unsubscribe and Chill

The gym subscription, the entertainment subscription, cable, magazines – just take a pause and think which subscription you have taken seriously so far. Do you need so many entertainment options with similar content? How often do you read all the magazines you’re paying for?

Odds are you’re signed up for more subscription-based services than you even remember. Odds are you’re probably paying for a lot more subscriptions than you really need. Unsubscribe and De clutter! This New Year make note of all of the subscriptions you use and bag the ones you don’t – you will save up big time.

Change One Money-Spending Habit

Is celebrating Friday a must? – Indulge in reading maybe. Do you order a medium coffee every day and really only drink half of it? Order a small. Is dining out during weekend a ritual? Break it with a pot luck get together. Can you bring lunch to work?

Do you really need to make the movie going thing a mandate every weekend? Sure no. You get the drill right. Don’t let any habit break your monthly budget.

A side hustle is always a good idea

One big financial resolution I think Millennial should make is around creating a side hustle/side stream of income. This is your time when you can juggle between things. Perform at a gig, give private classes to kids, be a blogger – options are many, pick the best that suits your interest or profile.

That way you can tick off things from your bucket list! You are from a time where you can make as much as you want to if you’re willing to think outside the box.

Want to know more about financial resolutions for millennials? Feel free to write us on contact@sbsfin.com

How to get most from your 2019 Financial Resolutions

New Year’s the time for new goals, new perspectives, new achievements in life. And primarily it begins with a healthy finance. Now we may take the financial resolution fairly seriously but like any other resolution, it may suffer the ‘I quit’ symptom. We resolve to get better about money matters, improve for a couple of weeks, or maybe even months, and then let those good habits lapse. Much of that colossal failure rate for New Year’s resolutions can be traced back to setting unrealistic goals and expectations. You certainly don’t want to fall pray of it this year surely. So although you may have your resolutions set, here are a few reasonable solutions that will help you be on track. Follow them and make 2019 the year you turn things around.

Build an emergency fund, today

Boosting your cash reserves for emergency situation should take priority over all other financial goals in the coming year. Encountering a home repair, wrecking your car, an unexpected mishap, all can leave a hole in your pocket if you have to spend from your pre-decided budget. Also, if your savings account balance is above that threshold, that is if you don’t have a minimum of three months worth of living expenses/salary tucked away in the bank, you’re running the risk of landing in debt. Making an overnight emergency fund isn’t quite possible although you can start cutting down on your monthly expenses to contribute to an emergency fund. But this is crucial and you have to be determined to build out a solid emergency fund.

Unhealthy debt isn’t quite healthy for your finance

Outstanding credit card debt is bad news. This sort of debt not only costs more money through interest charges but also has the potential to bring down your credit score. If you’re saddled with debt, paying it off will save you from an unhealthy cycle where you’re adding to your outstanding tab by the day. All you have to do is review your outstanding obligations, identify those with the
highest interest rates, and pay them off first. Without any more delay. You might also look into transferring various balances to a single card with a lower interest rate. Of course, to chip away at that debt, you’ll need extra money, which you can get by cutting down on expenses (for few months) or perhaps try another hustle (turn your hobby into second income). A combination of both works even better.

Don’t derail your budget in Financial Resolutions

You may have a budget ready and this may be your foremost financial resolution of the year. That’s great! But what may come in between is a good plan to live up to this resolution. Have a framework, that’s important. List your recurring monthly expenses, factor in one-time expenses (yearly subscription basically), and then compare your total spending to your post-tax income. The figures you use should be rooted in reality, which means you’ll need to check your bank and credit card statements to get an accurate sense of what you spend across various categories! Once you have that framework in place, you’ll see where your money is going and where you have room to cut corners to put in money clearing your debt or keeping aside for emergency fund.

Get rid of big de-railers

You have a plan in hand, a framework ready but still it appears difficult for you to save more or look out for a healthy finance. The number one reason is lack of commitment. Feeling stressed at work you indulge in ordering food, went for shopping – splurged on something they couldn’t afford,Continuing to pay for unused subscriptions, Paying too much in Friday night outs, buying something that you wouldn’t even use. All this come in between your healthy financial goals. Be little committed, do bit of mindset shifts, splurge less and you can avoid these roadblocks and achieve your financial resolutions!

Wondering about setting your financial goals ?? Want to know more about financial resolutions. Feel free to write us on contact@sbsfin.com