We love the swell of self-motivation and positivity that often comes with a new year. If managing your money in 2022 is one of your goals, you’ll be pleased to know is not very difficult to increase your value. Here are some simple steps to get ahead…

Look back

Log in to your online banking and scroll through your spending history. Spend a simple 5 minutes on it, and mentally clock any surprises or items that you think, in hindsight, was a bit of a waste of money. This simple and quick task can be the perfect influence on your future spending behavior. It might encourage you to cancel a subscription you haven’t utilised, question the value of expensive regular deductions and bills, or simply make you think twice before buying something you don’t need in the future.

Plan ahead

Money doesn’t equal happiness, but it does help to afford a lifestyle less stressful and with things that you enjoy doing and using. Think about what it is you’d do with more money this year. Is it save for a deposit, buy a bike, upgrade a part of your home? Whatever it is, define it, visualise it, and set it as your goal. Print a picture out of it to remind you and stick it somewhere you regularly look, or set it as your computer or phone wallpaper. When you have a clear goal that you bump into regularly, you are more likely to reach it.

Earn extra

Ask yourself what you need to do to earn more this year. Is it a side hustle, a pay increase, an expense subsidisation, or an investment? Define what it is in your life that will bring in more cash this year. This growth mindset has a compounding effect on your value.

Invest

We all know we should get our money to work harder for long term gain, but there are many variables that turn into barriers. The best place to start is with a sum of cash – big or small. The amount of money you have to start with will help to determine your options. You can’t buy an investment property with $1,000, but you could explore the share market. Do desktop research for your particular amount of money. There are many popular options for small sums, such as Raiz, a micro-investing app, or SelfWealth, a brokerage app that enables you to buy and sell shares to match your risk appetite. For larger investments, our best advice is to…get advice. In this volatile world, desktop research will only get you so far. You need someone you can turn to who lives and breathes the investment world to know the risks and opportunities that are right for your goals.

Just get started

Many financial tasks fall into the ‘too hard’ basket. Managing money might not be your cup of tea. But the truth of it is, you deserve to grow your wealth. Whether you need to prepare a will, sort your superannuation, or create a strategic financial plan…whatever it is, don’t look at the whole task, chunk it down and simply book the appointment. That first hour with a dreaded task will take the edge off and provide clarity on next steps. You don’t know what you don’t know until you do.

AdviceCo offers a complimentary initial Financial Discovery. To book a meeting with an authorised and experienced Financial Planner, please click here.

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