As the new year gets underway, now is the time to reflect on last year and make plans to do things even better this year. No need to focus on new year’s resolutions, but instead core things that you can do to improve your lifestyle and achieve your financial dreams.
The things that I encourage you to focus on for your Fresh Start to 2024 are: 1) Personal Development, 2) Paying down high interest debt including student loans, and 3) Sticking with or expanding on your financial goals. Now let’s look at each of these in more detail to help you get the year started off right.
Warren Buffet, the world-famous billionaire investor often talks about the one thing that can grow your wealth that you do not have to fear losing and no one can take it away from you. The one thing is your personal development. Why is this so important? It’s because personal development provides you with knowledge and skills that can take you to the next level of your career, maybe starting a new job, or preparing you for a new side hustle or even starting a business. Without personal development, we become stagnant and lose our ability to continue to grow. Personal development can take on many forms. It can be a certification class, a self-paced online training course, or even educational webinars. You should think about an area in which you hope to grow and make it your goal to achieve it this year. This newfound knowledge and skill usually will lead to a higher salary or more opportunities to make additional income. All are essential to helping you achieve your wealth-building goals.
Next, let’s focus on reducing your high interest debt or paying down your student loans. Some debts like student loans or mortgages are considered good debt. Student loans are good debt because it goes towards personal development that was discussed earlier. Mortgages are good debt because it goes towards an asset class that increases in value over time and can be sold for a profit or passed down as generational wealth. However high interest debt you incur when using your credit cards and not paying the balance in full just takes away from the money that you could save and invest for your wealth accumulation. Some studies show that spending money on bad debt, especially with high interest, is one of the key factors preventing people from achieving financial independence. Ideally, high interest card balances should be paid in full each month. If that is too much of a challenge, you should pay more than the minimum balance and try to pay off the balance as soon as possible. This will free up more money for you to put towards savings and investing to help with achieving your financial dreams.
Finally, let’s make 2024 the year that you continue to stick with or expand on your financial goals. I know saving and investing is challenging at times. It may require postponing or delaying those things that give you instant gratification and satisfaction like the purchase of a luxury car or going on an exotic vacation. Although these desires are important, so too is your financial freedom. Sticking with your financial goals just means not sacrificing your saving and investing to do those things that you desire. One of Paycheck to Wealth’s adages is to “Pay Yourself First”. If you develop this habit, then you should be well on your way to achieving your financial goals. Additionally, you can expand on your financial goals by using your annual salary increase, bonus or revenue increases to step up your saving and investing. This should be your mindset before using the additional money on your wish list items. This will definitely help make 2024 one of your best years.
Now is the time to put these three things into action. Remember Paycheck to Wealth is here to help. If you would like to discuss your situation on how to get moving with these goals, please contact us to learn more.
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