4 Simple Steps To Monitor Your Finances In 2021

Let’s admit it – 2020 was a year that gave us all headaches in terms of our finances. Across the globe, the COVID pandemic had a severe impact on the world’s economies. But that’s not all – personal finances were negatively affected too, leaving many with the question ‘how can I achieve financial success next year?’

If you’re looking for the answer to the above question, you’ll find it in this post, in which we’ll share with you the best ways to monitor your finances and become financially successful in 2021. 

Step one: Establish your targets

You’ve already established that you want to achieve financial success. Your first step to achieving this is to set your financial targets and figure out how you’ll achieve them. The key to this is striking the right balance between saving enough, spending the right amount, and still achieving your life goals.

You might begin by looking at the amount you need to save each month. One easy way to do this is to set a savings rate, which is crucial to helping you become financially secure. You’ll also be able to reach your long-term life goals once you’ve begun to put away a certain amount of savings every month.

Bear in mind not to set it too high and let’s remember that if you’d like to retire early the ideal amount you’ll need to save is approximately 30% of your gross household income.

Step two: Consider ways to reduce your outgoings

Now that you’ve established your targets, your next goal is to audit your bills and expenses. 

Easier to say than actually do. What could help is to wonder whether what you are buying is vital. While doing this, you will need to consider which outgoings are vital and which you can live without. To reduce your expenses, why not try to:

•  Look for cheaper phone tariffs (do you actually need the brand new phone?)

• Make the most of discounts and sales

• Consider a cheaper energy tariff

• Find discounted stays when going on holiday

• Cancel your credit card

To reduce your outgoings and expenses, then, you’ll need to take a good look at your monthly bills and find the ideal ways to make top savings. An Excel spreadsheet can assist you with your audit and will also be ideal to evaluate your expenses now and in the future. 

Step three: Find extra ways to get an extra income #hustlelife

What’s the best way to make more savings and be able to afford all your outgoings? You might want to consider getting an extra income. An extra income is an ideal way to put money away for your future goals.

Why not use your hobbies or other expertise to explore new side hustles to earn an extra income? Or how about looking for a new role that offers you a salary increase? These approaches will help you get the balance right between spending and saving for your future. It will also put you on the right path to achieve financial success.

Step four: Consider top investment opportunities

Our final tip to achieve financial success? Start investing your money. There are so many investment opportunities that will help you begin to make a good return. From stocks and shares to popular ETFs (exchange-traded funds), to certificates of deposit, to real estate, investments are a smart move that can help you secure your financial future.

There are many consultancies that can teach you the way and help you enter that world. 

In a similar way to getting an extra income, investment opportunities will cover all your bases. It will help you to save and achieve your long-term goals. But it also goes beyond this, enabling you to make long-term returns and gain a regular income.

Have you considered crypto? 

As mentioned earlier, a spreadsheet could help checking your expenses but also that you could have a look at investing. What if both of these were possible at once? 

This is called crypto. The technology behind it is called blockchain and is basically a ledger - every transaction is visible and no fraud is possible. 

Crypto can do the two steps: it can be the ledger you require to keep an eye on your investments. Of course, jumping without any knowledge in crypto is dangerous if not deadly. 

Therefore there are many consultancies helping everyone to understand and start investing and even building crypto businesses.

The key takeaways

Achieving financial success means different things for different people. Your outgoings will be unique to you, as will your income, but these four steps to being financially successful can be used for any situation. Remember to reduce your outgoings, consider other ways to increase your income, and be on the lookout for investment opportunities.

With these key steps, you’ll soon be able to seize control of your finances and achieve financial success now and going forward.

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