Life’s biggest moments – buying a house, buying a nice car, starting a family, getting married – are so exciting and also, more often than not, expensive. Planning ahead can make such a difference, enabling you to hit these milestones in a way that ensures your overall financial forecast doesn’t look stormy.
Here are eight smart financial tips to help you stay steady through these worthwhile, but challenging times:
1. Create A Budget For Your Milestone
Regardless of which milestone you have coming up, you’ll need a spending plan. This should be a clear, well-researched financial strategy that includes a contingency budget of around 15%. Don’t forget about potential tax implications, either! This is an excellent time to find the best online tax return platform to help you get the most possible deductions, and to keep your finances in great shape overall.
2. Protect Yourself
Income protection, private health cover, life insurance and any other covers you have need to be updated to match these new life chapters. Insurance cover may be invalidated in the event of certain life changes, which can leave you financially vulnerable. By protecting yourself adequately, you ensure at least one financial safety net is in place, as you work towards exciting new financial goals.
3. Boost That Emergency Fund
Life rarely goes to plan, and so a solid emergency fund – something two in five Americans don’t have – is a really smart idea. It should be around six months worth of living expenses and then some. This gives you some room to breathe when life feels constricting.
Photo by Mikhail Nilov
4. Be Flexible & Adaptable
As life changes, your financial milestones will change. It isn’t failure to put one milestone aside to prioritize another. Maybe you were saving for marriage, but a new health condition requires your financial attention. Perhaps you were saving for a special holiday, but a surprise pregnancy meant saving for a house needs to happen sooner rather than later. Revisiting your priorities and adapting to your life needs right now can ensure you stay on the right track as you work towards financial goals.
5. Keep Lifestyle Creep Under Control
If you see your income increasing, it can be just as easy to see your spending increase too. However, little luxuries can get out of control, and that is all money that you could be putting towards your milestones.
Your credit score makes a huge difference to your ability to achieve certain milestones. Face up to your credit report and get smart on how to improve it.
7. Get Your Affairs In Order
As you age, it’s more and more imperative to have your financial affairs in order. Powers of attorney, loans, debt, wills – these important aspects of your financial health need to be absolutely on point and updated as you hit new financial milestones and work towards other ones.
Photo by Antoni Shkraba Studio
8. Become Comfortable Talking About Money
Talking about money is uncomfortable for so many of us, but without that honesty and openness, we can’t make any real progress with our financial lives. Talking about debt, habits, goals, budgets and values saves on conflict and confusion down the line.
Milestones shape more than memories – they shape your finances too. With excellent planning, some smart habits, and plenty of foresight, you can hit these financial milestones with confidence and control.
Life’s biggest moments – buying a house, buying a nice car, starting a family, getting married – are so exciting and also, more often than not, expensive. Planning ahead can make such a difference, enabling you to hit these milestones in a way that ensures your overall financial forecast doesn’t look stormy.
Here are eight smart financial tips to help you stay steady through these worthwhile, but challenging times:
1. Create A Budget For Your Milestone
Regardless of which milestone you have coming up, you’ll need a spending plan. This should be a clear, well-researched financial strategy that includes a contingency budget of around 15%. Don’t forget about potential tax implications, either! This is an excellent time to find the best online tax return platform to help you get the most possible deductions, and to keep your finances in great shape overall.
2. Protect Yourself
Income protection, private health cover, life insurance and any other covers you have need to be updated to match these new life chapters. Insurance cover may be invalidated in the event of certain life changes, which can leave you financially vulnerable. By protecting yourself adequately, you ensure at least one financial safety net is in place, as you work towards exciting new financial goals.
3. Boost That Emergency Fund
Life rarely goes to plan, and so a solid emergency fund – something two in five Americans don’t have – is a really smart idea. It should be around six months worth of living expenses and then some. This gives you some room to breathe when life feels constricting.
4. Be Flexible & Adaptable
As life changes, your financial milestones will change. It isn’t failure to put one milestone aside to prioritize another. Maybe you were saving for marriage, but a new health condition requires your financial attention. Perhaps you were saving for a special holiday, but a surprise pregnancy meant saving for a house needs to happen sooner rather than later. Revisiting your priorities and adapting to your life needs right now can ensure you stay on the right track as you work towards financial goals.
5. Keep Lifestyle Creep Under Control
If you see your income increasing, it can be just as easy to see your spending increase too. However, little luxuries can get out of control, and that is all money that you could be putting towards your milestones.
For example, the average American spends over $2,000 dollars on eating out every single year. That could be over $2K saved by trimming back just one aspect of your lifestyle habits. Imagine how much faster you could achieve your financial goals with even more lifestyle editing.
6. Face Up To Your Credit
Your credit score makes a huge difference to your ability to achieve certain milestones. Face up to your credit report and get smart on how to improve it.
7. Get Your Affairs In Order
As you age, it’s more and more imperative to have your financial affairs in order. Powers of attorney, loans, debt, wills – these important aspects of your financial health need to be absolutely on point and updated as you hit new financial milestones and work towards other ones.
8. Become Comfortable Talking About Money
Talking about money is uncomfortable for so many of us, but without that honesty and openness, we can’t make any real progress with our financial lives. Talking about debt, habits, goals, budgets and values saves on conflict and confusion down the line.
Milestones shape more than memories – they shape your finances too. With excellent planning, some smart habits, and plenty of foresight, you can hit these financial milestones with confidence and control.
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