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Your Financial Takeover Starts Here
If you are ready to challenge yourself in the New Year, then keep reading. Most of us are looking for a fresh start and to clean up poor habits.
Setting measurable goals for myself was a life-changing practice. It’s what motivated me to stay on the right track with my finances.
Writing out my financial goals gave me the focus to keep steady on track. Otherwise, what would I be working towards? Financial independence, sure, but without a measurable goal, I would not be as regimented. I needed a specific number to work towards.
Top 5 Goals to Help You Improve Your Finances for 2024
The first time I set goals on my financial journey was the first time I saw real progress. My husband and I saw increases in our savings and investments that we did not imagine we’d reach had we not set goals in place.
Here’s an example of that. I was curious enough so I reviewed our savings account in 2022 and compared it to 2023.
We were fluctuating between $8,000 and $15,000 throughout the entire calendar year of 2022.
We intended to build our savings but it was not happening. We ended the year with $10,000. After setting our savings goal of $50,000 for 2023, we ended 2023 with $45,000 in savings.
That is a major improvement from stagnating between $8,000-$15,000. Just a quick note, we were $5,000 short of our goal because of how we get paid. I anticipated we’d make more than we did. So regardless, we are very happy with our progress. That is a $35,000 increase!
I want to help you reach your financial goals for 2024 and take control of managing your finances.
It does not matter your age nor does it matter what your income level is at the start of setting your goals. The point is to start NOW and be in a better place financially sooner rather than putting it off like most people.
If my husband and I did not set the $50K goal for 2023, I am hard-pressed to believe we’d reach it had we continued with our poor financial habits and lack of focus.
Keep reading to see just how we did it.
5 Goals for Financial Freedom and the Chance to Retire Early
1. Get Rid of Your High-Interest Credit Card Debt and Cut Your Spending
Yes, I am including two goals in one. They sort of go hand in hand. Credit card debt should be the first thing you get rid of this new year. On average credit card interest rates are around 20%.
So the longer it takes you to pay off your bills, the more money you’re spending on the purchases you made. The faster you pay it off the more money you’re able to save in the long run. That money can go towards the other financial goals which I will list below.
Make a plan to pay as much as your budget will allow you until you get that debt down to $0.
If you need more than a month to pay it off, call your credit card issuer and ask them if they can lower your rate. This way there is less interest building up on your existing debt while you’re working so hard to lower it.
Another strategy is to transfer your debt from your current high-interest credit card to a 0% interest credit card. A lot of credit cards offer a 0% introductory APR for a certain length of time, maybe 12 months or longer.
This can be a perfect solution to give you some breathing room, however, keep in mind opening up a new line of credit card may temporarily impact your credit score. You’ll want to avoid it if you’re looking to apply for a car or mortgage loan in the next 6-18 months.
The other part of this goal was to cut your spending. I snuck that in there. If you are already trying to work off your debt, why add on to it? Spend your money on the essentials.
If you are unable to afford to pay off credit card purchases immediately, then the hard truth and reality is you are unable to afford that purchase. It’s nothing to feel bad about, it just means you need extra time to allocate some money towards the purchase before you swipe your card.
Avoid buying multiples of household items. We love to stay stocked but most of the time it’s not necessary. If you truly need something just visit the supermarket or use Amazon.
Deep down you know what the essentials are. It’s okay to say no to yourself (even temporarily), to tackle your debt. Create this habit now to avoid overspending and taking on more debt in the future.
Practicing alertness when charging your card and spending your money is necessary. Start now! I do not recommend restricting oneself completely or living on soup every day to reach your goals.
But when you are especially struggling with your finances and require a break from “treating” yourself to nonessential items that further keep you in debt, then that’s when I suggest you restrict yourself as it can be an opportunity for character building through discipline.
I love to get people to a place where they can enjoy their lives financially and spend on what they love. But to be wise about it. Budget for your wants outside of your needs so you don’t feel bad about it.
Discipline is not denying yourself of the things that make you happy, it allows you to remain responsible.
2. Know Your Numbers with the Goal-Focused Budget (The easy way to budget)
This next goal is related to budgeting. I learned from my own experience and through helping others that budgeting by logging all your data into Excel sheets, adding pie charts, and calculating every little expense, is not easy to maintain. People tend to give up before they even start.
So my solution is not to create some fancy budget for yourself. KNOWING YOUR NUMBERS and following a Goal Focused Budget is a simpler form of budgeting without going nuts. This is a rough budget, you round to whole numbers here.
You can get a detailed description and copy of this Goal Focused Budget here.
For now, let me explain why a Goal-Focused Budget is ideal for managing your finances and reaching financial independence.
This type of budget takes the focus away FROM tracking every penny TOWARD meeting your financial goals in a pre-determined timeline.
This budget requires indicating your NET INCOME, alist of FINANCIAL GOALS FOR 2024, and ESSENTIAL and NON-ESSENTIAL SPENDING every month.
Once you’ve written all this down, you have to apply the PAY YOURSELF FIRST method. That means you have to decide on and allocate a dollar amount every month from your NET INCOME towards your 2024 financial goals.
The dollar amount you use to Pay Yourself First is calculated based on your Financial Goals for the year. Calculate how much you need every month to attain your monetary goals by the end of the year.
Paying yourself first ensures you prioritize your financial future over throwing your money back into circulation through unconscious spending.
That’s right, this money goes towards the year’s financial goals before you start spending anywhere else.
You ought to review your essential and non-essential costs as well and ask yourself how can I save here? You can read my blog post for tips on this here. (Our 5 Habits that Save Us >60% of our Income). The idea here is to increase your savings rate to reach your financial goals.
This is the easiest budget that will help you reach your goals so why not try it now? (Goal Focused Budget)
3. Start a Long-Term Emergency Fund with 3 months’ worth of Expenses
The usual advice is to set away 3-6 months of your total expenses but as a beginner, I recommend starting small. I even recommend starting with as little as 1 month for those who might have a lot of financial responsibility but do work your way up to the 3 month and 6 month mark slowly from there.
A short-term emergency fund helps pay for unexpected car and home repairs or hospital bills. You’d base this amount on your personal experience.
Having an emergency fund will provide you with a sense of security. It should include 3-6 months of those regularly occurring essential costs that allow you to keep a roof over your head, food in your belly, etc in the event you lose your income as occurred to many people during the pandemic. This will help keep your head above water while you look to replace your income.
Building your other savings and investment vehicles from here will be simple as you will not be using the money you are trying to grow to pay for potential economic or employment changes.
You’ll want to reach this goal as soon as possible so get started with your next paycheck.
4. Invest, Invest, and Invest
This is my favorite goal to share. I get that this can be intimidating to start. I hear many people tell me they do not understand a thing about stocks or investing. I urge you not to let it stop you.
Like anything in life, all you need is to expose your mind to this realm that seems so foreign. Little by little you WILL find yourself being more comfortable with investing.
I have investment accounts with Robinhood, Fidelity, and Vanguard. My investments include a combination of stocks, REITs (real estate investment trusts), and funds (a group of stocks in a specific sector i.e. technology).
Now all you have to do is to open an account first. Opening an account is free. I am big on educating myself on the fundamentals of what makes a stock or fund an ideal investment. I do understand, however, that most people do not have the time or patience to do so.
Alternatives to this are using Roboadvisor accounts. (Brokerage account blog here) This gives you a more hands-off approach but allows you to still take advantage of investing.
Above I mentioned the GOAL FOCUSED method when budgeting. Once you learn what the PAY YOURSELF FIRST amount is, automate your investments every month.
If you are a beginner, here is a simple step-by-step guide to starting your investing journey. Click here to begin, “Make Passive Income Investing with these 3 Easy Steps for Beginners: Reach Financial Freedom.”
One of my husband’s investment funds includes SPYV. This is an S&P 500 Value Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) that tracks the S&P 500. It holds 445 different stocks including Berkshire Hathaway, JP Morgan Chase, Exxon Mobile, and Johnson & Johnson.
An ETF I am invested in is called SPYG. This is an S&P 500 Growth ETF. Some of its top holdings include Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Nvidia, and more notable stocks.
I also invest in individual stocks such as Abbvie a pharmaceutical company that pays me dividends every quarter for investing. I reinvest those dividends back into Abbvie and compound interest goes to work for me. While my husband invests in Tesla.
I am sharing these investments not as recommendations as I am not a financial advisor.
But I do recommend looking into funds that track the S&P 500 or the Total stock market as it is considered well diversified by providing you with broader options of stocks and historically generates annual average returns of approximately 10%. How’s that for letting your money work for you?
With inflation on the rise, what better way to hedge against losing monetary value (of your hard-earned dollars) while increasing your net worth?
5. Increase your annual Income / Salary
In the journey to financial independence, I believe it is important to first start by learning to manage your current finances. Without the proper foundation, you’re at risk of not seeing any financial improvement for years, potentially into retirement.
Making more money will speed you up to reaching your financial goals. Here’s how you can start.
If you are an employee, make sure you get to a place in your job where you can request a raise. What I mean is you need to be the all-star employee that your employer notices. Step up at work! This can get you to a place where you have the confidence to request a raise.
Reread your job description and implement those duties with 110% effort. Set yourself up so that your employer sees your efforts, and there could be a promotion in sight for you.
If you don’t find that your current job can offer you a higher salary then look elsewhere. See if there are any jobs out there willing to pay more. You can even use that as leverage in your current job as well.
Either way, impress your superiors so they compensate you accordingly. Keeping a good relationship opens the door to recommendation letters.
It is suggested to search for a new job every 2-3 years to maximize your salary.
Another option you hear all the time is to start your own business, start a side hustle, or anything that will bring in a little extra income.
I used to hear this and think, “Well sure this sounds ideal, but is it realistic?”. I found it is realistic. There are many opportunities out there from small part-time jobs to starting your side hustle.
You can make money immediately by taking another job but if you decide to go the side hustle route or even start your own business, it will require dedication.
I don’t care what you tell yourself, we all have a service, talent, or product we can monetize off of. But don’t give up along the road despite obstacles or discouraging moments that you will more than likely experience. Keep your head up and push your way to success
You did it! You learned the 5 Best Personal Finance Goals for 2024!
Regardless of where you stand financially, use my tips to:
1) Get your credit card debt to $0.
2) Use the easiest budgeting method by focusing on your goals.
3) Get your emergency fund filled.
4) Have your money grow while you sleep using compound interest through investing.
5) Get the raise you deserve or move on to something better.
Now go achieve them to get on the road towards your Financial Takeover.
I will help you learn the tools you need to make better financial decisions, improve your money-management skills, and get you on the path to retiring early and enjoying financial independence.
I care to make this a fun journey rather than a restrictive one but that takes being mindful, practical, and intentional with your financial habits.
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Until next time,
The Financial Takeover
