It’s that time of year again - a time of fresh starts and good intentions. This month we're talking about setting financial goals and the benefits of doing so. Whether you want to get your debt load under control, save up for a down payment, or want to finally set a family budget and really stick to it, I want to help. Our team will be providing a few tips that can help achieve those financial New Year’s (or New Decade) Goals. Sorry, we can’t help you with losing weight, finding your dream job or that special someone, but get your financial house in order and you never know what else might come your way.
1. First of all, let’s start with the basics. Do you know what all your debts are, how much interest you are paying and how much your minimum monthly payments add up to? Writing down a list of all your debts and payments can be an eye opening experience. If you have more than a couple of credit cards and lines of credit, you can easily lose track. Visually seeing this list, you may be surprised at what it all totals!
Now this sounds like simple stuff; in fact, who wouldn’t want to both know this and do this, but guess what? 90% of people don’t! That’s right, only 10% of adults actually take the time to go through this exercise, then track and monitor it. So right off the bat just by doing this, you are going to put yourself into a select group of folks!
2. The next logical step after you do the above, is to do up either a personal or family budget. Once again, only 10% of households actually take the time to do this; the other 90% get stuck binging the latest Netflix series! Budgeting is a great way to start the New Year, and if you need help let our team know. We have a sample budget we can email over. Consider it our New Year's present to you!
3. Take control of your spending by trying to limit your use of credit to just one credit card and working on paying off the other card balances. Borrowing from Peter to pay Paul is not a financial strategy anyone should adopt. However, in our society, lots of folks do. In fact, nowadays I would say it’s more like borrowing from John, to pay Peter who in turn pays Paul - it’s growing like a conga line!
4. The new year is a great time to check your credit bureau report. Doing this regularly can bring your attention to inaccuracies, and potentially fraudulent activity that can cause you a whole lot of grief, emotionally and financially. Also, if your credit is less than stellar, one of your goals should be to improve or repair it. Need advice on how to do so? Give us a call.
5. Savings, Savings! Are you saving up for a down payment for your first house? Saving for your retirement or your child’s education? Finally going to take that long awaited dream vacation? Setting a realistic goal and sticking to it will get you there. As well, another way to motivate yourself is to set up little rewards for sticking to things along the way. Make the rewards small as they shouldn’t deplete the savings, but rather encourage you to save more and for your finances to grow.
Keep in mind that we've helped many clients achieve goals that they thought were impossible to reach. If buying a property is what you want to do in 2020, our team can help you set a budget and give you some tips regarding your credit, too. We can help you determine how much of a down payment you need to save by pre-qualifying you for a mortgage. If you already own your home, consolidating debt may be a positive and realistic option, and one that can save you money and provide positive cash flow.
Remember the Auxilium Team is here to help, not just when you get your mortgage, but anytime before or after that. We don’t consider our relationship at an end when the mortgage is complete: it’s only the beginning. You don’t have to wait until the renewal, years down the road, to talk to us again. If you need assistance with anything we’ve mentioned here, contact us any time to set up an appointment.