Spring has sprung and what better way to kick off a new quarter than with 4 money strategies that you can do each week for the month of April to build and protect your wealth. It’s a “spring cleaning” of sorts to help us continue working towards your most important financial goals (it also happens to be Financial Literacy/Education Month!). Set aside one hour each week to tackle this mini money challenge that will set the tone for strong money habits for the rest of the year.
- Week 1: Review your goals and your spending.
- Your goals are the core of your financial plan. Review and reflect on your progress towards your goals including what has been working and what needs work.
- Take a look at your spending in the last 3 months. Did you spend money on things that don’t align with what’s important to you? Did you overspend on something that wasn’t accounted for in your spending plan?
- PRO TIP: Consider 3 different bank accounts as money buckets with specific roles. For example:
- one checking account is for your bills and obligations
- one checking account for fun spending
- one high yield savings account for emergencies
- Week 2: Increase your contributions to your emergency fund and investments.
- If it’s not done already, automate your saving and investing contributions as though you’re treating them like a bill!
- Consider small increments to your contributions every quarter. You can either do a flat dollar amount (ex: increase by an extra $50/mo) or a percentage (ex: increase by an extra 2%).
- PRO TIP: Some accounts may allow you to schedule out increases to your contributions on a future date.
- Week 3: Increase your income.
- There’s only so much you can do to cut your expenses (hello, inflation!), so start focusing energy towards how to increase your income streams. Some options include virtual assistant work or contract side gig work that won’t interfere with your job.
- If you’re a business owner, consider raising your prices or adding another tier of higher pricing that offers more value for new or existing clients.
- Pro Tip: Avoid lifestyle creep (aka: as your income increases, your expenses increase) by setting aside the increase in income towards paying off your debt, building your savings and investments.
- Week 4: Protect your money
- Check your beneficiaries on your investments, life insurances, and your bank accounts to ensure they’re updated.
- One account that gets overlooked for adding a beneficiary is your bank account. If you die without a beneficiary listed on your checking or savings accounts, that money may be held up in probate.
- PRO TIP: Avoid this headache by going to your bank and asking to add a TOD (transfer on death) or POD (pass on death) to ALL your bank accounts.
What’s great about this 4-week strategy is that you can use this as your base every month. Build a healthy relationship with your money by dedicating the time to review and know your numbers.
As always, we’re in your corner rooting for you!