Skyrocket your finances by planning for success

If you’re receiving money back from your tax return, then you may wonder what to do with it. If you owe money on your taxes, then you will also need to make adjustments to compensate for that. Setting the right financial goals can help you gain financial independence and take control of your personal finances.

If you are just getting started on your journey towards financial independence, it can seem overwhelming at first. You may not even know where to start and that’s okay. Fortunately, there are some simple hacks that will help skyrocket your finances, no matter where you are currently.

Here are my top five tips to help you get control of your finances.

1. Invest in yourself

You may feel like investing in yourself is too far out of reach, but I can assure you, it’s not! It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money to start investing in yourself.

In fact, there are many ways you can invest in your own growth without spending a cent!

For example, following blogs on any skill you would like to learn, such as fitness, finance, cooking, coding. Anything else that interests you. You can learn a new skill with little to no cost if you are resourceful enough. You may be able to find a blog (like this one!) that will help you learn basic money skills you need to be successful.

There are so many books and online courses that can help you to gain knowledge or skills that can be applied to your current career or new job search. And of course, there’s always the sea of TED Talks, YouTube channels and podcasts dedicated to even the most niche topics online.

All you have to do is pick something and get started. The only thing holding you back is yourself.

If you invest in up-skilling in the area that you work in, you might be able to claim it back when it comes to tax time. Another nice incentive to invest in yourself!

2. Invest your money

Some people don’t invest their money because they’re worried they don’t know enough to get started. It can seem overwhelming if you don’t know anything about investing, but don’t let that stop you from learning and trying.

You don’t need a lot of knowledge or money to start investing. There are many different investment tools and apps out there to help you get started. If you don’t want to worry about the timing of the market, then you can focus on long-term investments.

Investing a regular amount consistently over time will help you build your investment. Investing in low-cost index funds is a great place to start for beginners. It is better to start now with what you have than to wait until you have more to invest.

Small amounts invested now will grow over time.

3. Set a goal

There are so many different end goals when it comes to personal finance. If you don’t know what you want to accomplish, you risk making no progress at all.

You need to sit down and determine what you want to accomplish financially over the course of the next year. Why not carve out some time by heading to your favourite bar or café (or make your favourite drink at home if you’re in lockdown). Sit down and get it done.

More on this: How to create a personal finance plan in 45 minutes

4. Review milestones

Once you have an overarching goal, you need to set smaller goals or milestones to track your progress.

If you want to save a certain amount, then have checkpoints of smaller amounts leading up to your end goal. This will help you to see that you are making progress and help you stay motivated to reach your goal.

It will also reveal if you need to make adjustments to reach your goal.

5. Find support

It is important to have the proper support while you are working towards your goals (and often even setting them!). Engage the services of a good financial adviser or join a finance community like The Remarkable Woman.

Keep investing in yourself, building your knowledge and assessing your progress. Take action and get ready to skyrocket your finances!

This article was originally published on The Remarkable Woman, click here to see the original article.