As the year begins to wrap up, many of us are starting to take stock and plan out our goals for the new year – and one of your areas of focus might be your finances.
Using this time to recalibrate, think about your current money situation and goals, and think long-term is a great way to realign your finances so that next year, they’re working for you.
Okay, but where do I get started?
Before you start to plan out your goals for the year ahead, it’s important that you know where you stand. You want to get knowledgeable about where you’re actually at! This means going through where your finances are at right now – the good AND the bad.
Here are some things that you can work through to get a sense of your current standing:
Your current spending. If you’re not tracking your spending already, try using a spreadsheet to go through and categorise the last few months of spending across your current accounts or use a bank tool to do so.
Emergency fund. Have you got an emergency fund or liquid savings that you can lean on if something goes wrong? Here at Juno we recommend aiming for 3 months of expenses in an emergency fund, but try and reach £500 to get started.
Long-term savings and investments. If you’ve got your emergency fund down, take a look at what you’re doing for your long-term savings and investments. Are your long-term savings in an account or an ISA with good interest, or just in an easy saver account? How far away are you from your current financial goals?
Debt. Have you got any outstanding credit card debt, or recurring payments like a mortgage and student loans? It’s important to work on paying off anything that could accumulate quickly or impact your credit score and also to take into account long-term debt that will impact your ability to save.
I'm ready to make some moves!
Once you’ve taken stock, you can now work out your goals for the next year with a real sense of what your priorities should be. Maybe you want to save for a house, but credit card debt is holding you back. Maybe you want to make your side hustle a full-time hustle, but a lack of emergency fund means you don’t have a safety net. Knowing where you actually stand is key to working out what power moves you can make next! 💪🏻
If long-term goals seem overwhelming, try splitting it down into manageable amounts of time for the year with scheduled reviews. Quarterly and monthly goals can help your bigger ones seem much more achievable, and help you take action without being held back.