Your 2018 Money Mindfulness
It’s no secret that the prospect of a new year brings the valuable opportunity to make a difference to many areas of life. Whether that be a pledge to exercise more, and eat healthier, or spend more time with family, focus on those house chores, or all of the above. There’s also definitely room in the resolution list for a bit of Money Mindfulness, and we don’t mean discovering your inner yogi, but rather increasing your own (and your family’s) awareness of your financial roadmap.
These 5 tips will get you on your way to owning your financial future and heading into 2018 with a clear view of the path ahead.
#1 Set some family goals
With the whole family together, set some saving and budgeting goals for the year. Talk about the difference between needs and wants, and how you can all work together to prioritise discretionary spending to work towards the same goals. Consider setting up some coin jars for everyone to contribute to, maybe it’s a family holiday, or a home improvement, make it specific, measurable and achievable!
#2 Know your spending patterns
Awareness is the best way to help you stick to your goals and make the right decisions. Understand the impact of casual spending, such as takeaway coffees, gym memberships and even fuel consumption. To make smart changes, you need information and measurement, maybe this means keeping a spending diary for a few weeks?
#3 Understand your liabilities
Without sounding like a party pooper, a shared understanding of your family’s financial liabilities, helps everyone to put saving and spending goals into perspective. Decisions between needs and wants, and balancing rewards become clearer when everyone understands the big picture.
#4 Seek advice
To help steer you through your financial journey and become empowered for your future, the advice of a money specialist can be the pivotal element to your plan. For a genuinely objective viewpoint, and the opportunity to identify new ideas, a financial adviser can bring a whole new dimension to your goal setting and debt minimisation.
#5 Allow time for reward
Just like any set of goals and disciplines, keep everyone focused and enthusiastic by factoring in the right amount of rewards. Small and frequent rewards, that don’t reverse all the good work, such as family outings and mini vacations, can make all the effort so much more worthwhile.
