How to set yourself up for success next year
If you’ve made your list and checked it twice and done your holiday shopping, it’s time to take a moment and consider what would be appropriate to give yourself. Here are some suggestions.
Set just one goal for yourself in the new year. And if that’s too long a time horizon, make it quarterly or monthly. Your chosen goal likely will involve self-discipline — or you would have done it already. So, whether it’s quitting smoking or starting an exercise program, set up a way to track your progress.
My favorite goals revolve around handling credit and savings. Could you go two months without charging a penny to a credit card and using your debit card instead? Could you start deducting from your paycheck a larger 40l(k) contribution in January or sign up for a monthly contribution to a Roth IRA?
It’s easier than ever these days to get your finances in order, as well as your closet. So your present to yourself could be a Marie Kondo-style sweep of your personal finances, whether you keep track of them online or in a file box.
This is a perfect time of year to start, creating file folders for the tax stuff that will come in the mail in the next month. Create files for bank statements and mutual fund reports if you still collect paper, but, better yet, start doing everything online and save some trees. Tally the year-end valuation of your IRA accounts if you must take required distributions in the year ahead.
Technology makes it easier than ever to organize and plan. To get started, download the best-selling personal finance software, Quicken. This program resides securely on your computer and instantly updates and organizes all your bills, payments and investment accounts; it even helps you budget and track expenditures. If you’d rather have all this information on your smartphone, download the Mint app, which does much the same thing.
Then consider the gift of financial advice from robo advisers like Wealthfront, Betterment, Ellevest and Robinhood. Spend a few quiet days at year’s end setting up an account, considering their suggestions and perhaps rearranging your finances to reach those goals.
Creating a plan to wipe out your debt is far more productive than dreaming of winning the lottery. Remember, if you double the current minimum payment on any credit card and keep paying that same amount (today’s minimum) every month, and never charge another penny, your card will be paid off in less than three years. Can’t afford double on all your cards? Start with paying off the highest rate card and enjoy your success.
What can you personally do to help someone else? In many cases your time and your concern are worth far more than money. Helping an overwhelmed friend by doing errands or babysitting, befriending an older person who is lonely during the holidays or spending time with a child who really needs a role model are all priceless gifts. Just look around to see the unspoken needs.
You may be surprised by how much each of these gifts changes your own life for the better. And that’s The Savage Truth.