Best Suggestions to Turn 2024 Into a Financial Triumph

Less is more in certain situations. This could easily be a “24 for ’24” story, but I felt it would be more sensible to focus on a few crucial yet small steps you could take this year to put yourself in a successful position.

1. Assess Your Position

Lie all of your cards out on the table and count your possessions. Examine your insurance coverage, cash flow (income and expenses), and net worth (assets and liabilities). Make a plan for your annual financial goals and reaffirm your long-term goals. To keep them in the forefront, write them down and place them somewhere conspicuously (phone, refrigerator, mirror, etc.).

2. Recognize where it ends

This year, really take control of your finances by keeping a daily journal of everything you spend. Sort out your spending and add it all up once a week or once a month. Use online tools or a pen and paper to help you track. Examine every category after a few months to find areas where you can make reductions or eliminate completely. Lastly, each month, save the money you’ve saved. Include any additional revenue—like a pay increase—into your investment, savings, and debt-reduction plans.

3. Combine and Make a Simple

Financial advice like “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” is generally sound. But it can be counterproductive to have so many baskets that you are unable to keep track of them. Managing your spending habits and portfolio when your money is spread across several accounts and institutions can be quite challenging. Create an investment strategy and place all of your holdings into a small number of baskets. To stay on track, use bill payments, allotments, and automatic investments.

4. Save Now for Short-Term Goals

When it comes to finances, “plan and save” is far superior to “don’t plan and borrow.” Large recurring costs like holidays, trips, and back-to-school shopping offer the ideal chance to create a monthly savings plan so you can save the money you’ll need instead of borrowing it. Which would you prefer—making monthly interest-bearing payments to a credit card company or making interest-bearing payments to yourself? If these short-term objectives are met, it will be evident that 2024 was a success.