If you have been taking more time recently thinking about your financial future then you’re not alone and you are like millions of other Australians who are thinking the exact same thing as well. It is the one thing that we all worry about as we get older and if there was some way to guarantee our financial future today then the vast majority of us would take it. Unfortunately, life is not that easy or predictable and so we have to put things into place that will hopefully guarantee us that we can retire early and enjoy the fruits of our labour.
Some people prefer to trade shares in order to make fast returns while others buy up shares because they want to be in it for the long run. No matter where you are on the road to financial independence, there will still be room for improvement when it comes to securing your financial future. The following are just some top ways to help to guarantee that your finances will be in good shape in the near future.
- Figure out your expenses – You cannot know how much money that you have to invest in your financial future if you don’t know how much that you’re spending today. Many people don’t regularly review their spending and so they don’t have a real idea of the money that is coming in and the money that is going out at any given time. Many Australians forget about expenses that they have signed direct debits for and so you need to include these when figuring out if you can actually put money aside to invest.
- Figure out your needs & wants – These are two completely different things and there are many things that you need in this life like food, a roof over your head and clothes to wear but there are some things that you might want but you don’t necessarily need. The recommended suggestion is that you put aside 50% of your money for your needs, 30% for what you want and then the rest is saved or invested.
- Set yourself some financial goals – If you don’t set yourself goals then you have nothing to reach for and so write down the things that you hope to achieve financially and the time that you think it will take to get there. You need to be realistic when making your list and it is important to have everything written down so that you can refer to it from time to time to make sure that you are on the right track. You then need to measure your progress and make sure that you are definitely going in the right direction financially.
Other things that you can do are taking all of your credit card debt and moving it onto a new card that offers you zero percent on balance transfers. Keep an eye on the interest rates that lending institutions are offering and move your money to those accounts.
