A lot of us have done some damage with our recent Black Friday/ Cyber Monday shopping for ourselves and others and I know that around this time every year that is the case for me. But I save up for these expenses and of course may go over a bit like anyone else so I like to look at ways to invest back in myself when I have big purchases like this in my life to get back in control of my finances. Here are 5 FREE ways that you can invest in yourself right now!
Automatic Savings- This is something I started doing years ago and let me tell ya it has saved me some headaches. Now I have a savings account and I have a travel account and every month I have automatic withdrawals that put money into those accounts for me (I increase or decrease when needed) and when I need it, it’s there. Why is this important to do now? When you start this you will begin to see less money in your checking’s account but with time you will begin to get use to not having this money and wanting to spend it. You will see the amount increase in your other accounts and want to continue to see this number go up because you’ll know that the day you need it, it will be there for you and you will able to spend it on lets say a nice trip without it hurting your personal checking’s account. And that my friends is the power of letting money work for you.
Automatic Payments– This one should go without saying but if you don’t have automatic payments set up and you are getting late fees, SET UP YOUR AUTOMATIC PAYMENTS! Don’t have your hard earned money going to the bank collecting interest, if this isn’t enough to motivate you then I’m not sure what will.
Give Yourself a Realistic Budget- Now that we have done some holiday shopping lets think of how we can set a budget for ourselves to help make some of that money back. Think about where you can cut your costs and how you can get some extra money but more importantly set an actual number goal of how much you’d like to save and spend. Be realistic with yourself and know that even starting small counts.
Live Below Your Means (Test Run)- Hear me out on this one, after a month of buying presents and spending a little more than you should lets think of easy ways to cut back and help rebuild some of your wealth. Winter is coming and with COVID still around that means you still aren’t going out and now it is time to take a look at what spending habits (if any) you have picked up during these time. Are ordering takeout often? Try skipping it for a month and put that money towards learning how to cook 3 meals you love. Look at your bank account and your life and REALLY think about what you actually NEED vs WANT. Cut out what you want for a month and see if you found a better way to spend that money or if it is a luxury you want and can afford back in your life. It’s just a month, test it and see how it goes.
Check Your Credit Score- This will cost you nothing to see where you currently are but take this time to look at it and think about if you’d like to improve your score and research how you may be able to get it to set number. Again, be sure to set a number as your goal because a goal without a number is just a dream and we are trying to get you to improve your score so you can be eligible for the bigger goal things you want in life.
BONUS: Look at investing in stocks or growing your stock portfolio. I myself am trying to get better at this, as it can be a bit intimidating.
I hope these tips were encouraging and can help you invest in your future, because we all can use a little extra money in our pockets.
As always, thank you for reading. Como siempre, gracias por leer.
