Three simple things you can do to start your new year off on the right financial path

Welcome to 2017! For most people, the start of a new year means setting new resolutions and goals. For some, these resolutions and goals may include getting out of debt or improving finances in some other manner (saving more money, buying a home, etc).

But the unfortunate thing about resolutions is that they are usually forgotten about as quickly as they’re made. You get busy, you hit a few roadblocks along the way to your goals, or other life events just get in the way. Before you get off track, let us help you by discussing 3 simple things you can do to start your new year off on the right financial path!

Make a financial inspiration board where it can easily be seen. It’s very easy to think of something once and then never think about it again. But if you are visually reminded of your goals on a daily basis, not only will they be harder to forget, but you’ll also constantly be reminded of what you’re working towards.

Go over your budget (or make one if you don’t already have one). The new year is the perfect time to review your budget so that you can see if you stayed on track, or if there are still areas that you can improve upon. And of course if you never got around to making a budget last year, don’t go another year without getting one in place so that you can see where you stand financially.

Go over all of your bills and debts. Whether you make a spreadsheet listing them all out (tip - if you have a budget in a spreadsheet, just copy and paste), or you make a folder that contains all of the bills on paper; start gathering! Once you have everything listed out, check them all over to make sure charges are accurate and that there are not any billing errors or fee increases. As you go throughout the year, it’s easy to miss a fee increase or erroneous charges. The new year is the perfect time to make sure you’re saving money everywhere you can!

Need more ideas and tips on how to save or get on the right financial path? Learn how to budget using the 50/20/30 method!