Here are 10 Better Money Habits for Reaching Your Money Goals
Here’s an important number of money saving goals facts:
“Cash emergencies don’t wait for a good time. Bank accounts don’t pick a quiet day to get overdrawn. Appliances don’t ask permission before they break. Even sudden opportunities or adventures rarely announce themselves before showing up. If you are in need for a cash infusion to cover possible unexpected expenses, it’s probably at an inconvenient time.”
Today, as always, much needed better money habits in order to reach your important financial goals are absolutely essential to live a good and freer life -- without the impact of financial worry and stress.
Money Saving Starters And The American Dream
“The American Dream” is such a deeply ingrained concept in our country that it does not even have to be explained or defined. Weird, right? Was it ever explained to you? I highly doubt it. It certainly wasn’t explained to me or to my siblings. It’s simply a way and a dream of being American. The concept is always there with us. No explanation ever seemed really needed.
But let’s take a minute to inspect the familiar and well-known American Dream a little closer. Whatever your background is – religious or economic or blended or on and on – we all look to do the same thing: keep our family healthy and safe, and ensure that they learn how to be build stronger and better money habits and better money savings goals. The reason? Creating money habits that will empower a more fulfilling and less stressful future.
“Financial independence is something that just about all consumers have as a goal. Unfortunately, it's not always easy to achieve. If you want to be independent financially, it's important to get started today. To get started, you need to go through the right steps. You need to set out a plan for yourself that you'll stick with over time.”
Developing better money habits are truly possible, no matter what your current financial status is. Read on and learn some terrific – and proven – ways to reach your money goals.
We have complete confidence in you. We know you’ve got this!
Here are 10 better money habits that will get you started on a solid financial future:
- Don’t buy your daily work lunch and snacks. Each day, pack yourself up a yummy lunch and bring snacks from home
- Coupons work. Use them as often as possible
- When it’s your grocery shopping day, make a list. And closely stick to that list. This avoids spending on things you don’t really need or use or eat
- We all want to have family fun outdoors. Go online and see which events are free. You’ll be amazed at what you will find
- Do everything you can possibly do to avoid using any of your credit cards. Cash is key! And also start working on paying off any credit card debt you currently have
- Are you dreaming of that big buy, like a new large-screen TV? Take a few weeks to think about if you really and truly NEED it
- Track every single expense you have. Believe it, there are most probably several expenses you don’t need at all
- Take it easy on your utilities. Does the heat have to be up so high? Do all those household lights need to be on? Do you have to have the TV on all day, even when you’re not watching anything? Being aware of things like this really add up to better money habits, and lot’s more money saving.
- Read up on better money saving habits. Take out some books from the library, read some online articles – any little thing helps you learn, and save
- Try out some bill negotiations. Is your cable bill too high? Let the cable company you use know. They want to keep your business, so go ahead and negotiate with them
The Phrase To Always Keep In Your Head: “Can I Afford It?”
Today, perhaps more than ever before, having strong money saving goals and better money habits are not just plainly important. They are absolutely vital. Take some smart and much-needed steps toward moving to a better financial future. Take baby steps if you need to (it’s SO okay to do that!), but start that knowledge-building today.
Explore and discover your personal accounting truth
It might sound like a bummer of a task, but believe me – it’s an important one! Among the first steps you need to take to create your new and improved better money habits is to take a truthful appraisal of exactly where your dollars stand today.How much do you currently spend? How much do you currently owe? What are your regular monthly payment responsibilities, taking even the smallest ones into account? How much do you have in your savings account? What are, and where are, your retirement funds – and how much have you accrued so far?
Once you begin assessing, you’ll find it’s not such an awful task. On the contrary, you’ll learn so much! Here’s a helpful suggestion: create for yourself a personal balance sheet that will help to easily guide and show you how much you truthfully spend, how much you exactly owe and pay out to bills each month, what you have managed so far to save for your future, and more.
Have you checked out your FICO score lately? If not, take a look at the number
So what is your credit score today? Do you know? If not, it is super important to know that credit score number, also called a “FICO” score. Go online and check out the website called myFICO.com. It’s very safe, and very popularly used, so have no worries about any of your personal information being compromised.Why is your FICO score so important to your money saving goals? Ask any financial goal planner and they’ll pretty much say this same thing: once upon a time, a high FICO score enabled you and your family to get the absolute best purchase deals. Today, however, it has become more complicated, making a strong FICO score more vital than ever. If your need is to acquire a loan or buy a car or purchase a house, for example, your score must be at least 700 to 720 points. If your credit score is below 700 points, you definitely have some financial work to do, such as cutting down on anything not essentially needed, and perhaps even calling around to get a good debt-help company. Knowing your FICO score is a truth that will help give you better clarity for better money habits.
The importance of living within your needs…but below your means
We all have wants. You know, those fun but unnecessary ones. But today is a new day, one that will help you and your loved ones build better money habits and better saving goals. We know you want to reach your financial needs. And we know that you want to maintain those financial goals. That means you have to live below your means, and just concentrate on the truly needed bills and purchases. Trust me – this affordable habit will help your future!Living below your means isn’t as bad as it sounds. It simply means spending your dollars on your everyday, essential necessities. Don’t spend any of the dollars from your paycheck on those special wants and desires – those things you want but can’t really afford. And make sure some of your paycheck money goes into your savings account; even it’s a few dollars (because every penny really and truly counts). And if you do not yet have a savings account, what are you waiting for?!
The affordable truth about using cash
We all know that credit cards and loans can quickly get us into financial trouble. It may seem old-fashioned, but it really is not – and it really works. Go ahead and embrace the power of using cash. Of course, if you are looking to buy a home or a new vehicle or some other important big-ticket item, you’ll most probably need to take out that loan or use your credit card. But for the every day and less expensive needs (gasoline for your car, grocery items, small holiday gifts, etc.) use cash to bring back affordability and the true American Dream. Trust us – pay for as much as you can with cold, hard cash. This will allow you to owe less and have more for your tomorrows. Buying with cash, and this includes your debit card, will lead you to cut down on the temptation to buy unnecessary items, and help you to owe less and less. Studies have been made to prove that buying with cash or your debit card makes you spend less, especially on items you really don’t need or can’t afford. Cash is the new cool!
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Spend Better. Spend Smarter
You have your ways to spend and to save your dollars. How are they working for you? It’s always a good idea and learning lesson to hear how other folks spend and save, so allow us to share our own insights and recommendations.
Goalry.com recommends several topics that are terrific to start spending better, spending smarter, and saving for your future.
Create a solid budget – and use it
Creating a budget for your necessary expenditures will not reveal to you how to actually spend the dollars you have or how you should prioritize how to spend those dollars. But a solid budget WILL show you how and what you are actually spending and prioritizing your money on. This knowledge will help you make better spending decisions. That’s incredibly vital information!Teaching your teens how to spend the smart way
Responsibility and the fact of spending the right way is a very important lesson to teach your young ones. Give your children an introduction to creating budgets, and help them stick to the budgets. Budget-sticking takes practice, so be patient with them. They’ll eventually get it, I assure you. Here is a good idea to start them on spend-learning: give them the responsibility of paying a small monthly household bill or one of their own monthly bills. And make sure they acquire a doable job, even if they are still in school. It’s a must!Do you own your own home?
Great advice from Goalry: “There are people who are perfectly happy renting or living in other arrangements. But homeownership is still one of the most secure and meaningful ways to anchor your family, your life, and your financial future. It may take some determination, and we can promise you more paperwork than a CVS receipt, but it’s doable if you decide it’s doable.”
Last But Certainly Not Least: Hire Yourself a Good Financial Goal Planner
Thinking of bringing on a financial goal planner to help you reach your money goals? Set up a “get-to-know-you” consultation with a few financial goal planners in your area. Ask the planners any questions you may have. You want to ultimately go with a financial goal planner you trust and like.
There are so many money goals you can’t control. But there are so many money goals you can indeed control, especially with the help and advice of a dedicated financial goal planner.
The best advice you can be given is to start with a strong strategy that will start to build your better money habits. Begin with these good habits, as any financial goal planner would and should tell you:
Spending needlessly? Cut it out!
Get rid of all that debt
Make sure to set up a savings fund, even if it’s a small one
Ready? Set? Join the Goalry Mall!
Achieve your better money habits today
Final Financial Thoughts
There’s no time to waste. Start working on your financial independence now. It won’t be easy, and it will take thought and planning, but it will be worth it. And the more you do it, the better you’ll get at it and the easier it will become.
Why take the chance of having to depend on anyone for your future support? You deserve peace of mind and money independence. Your future is bright. Make it shine and enjoy ever minute of your later years.