Three Financial New Year's Resolutions

The New Year is coming! As everyone knows, January is prime time for committing to yearlong resolutions. Most resolutions center around going to the gym more often or reconnecting with a hobby that you have been missing, but we believe that there are some financial resolutions that one could add to their list as well. Today we are going to touch on three financial resolutions for 2019.

The first resolution is to create a budget. Do you know how much you spend each month? Do you know how much income you receive each month? Do you know if you have a surplus or deficit of cash? All of these questions can be answered by creating a budget. There are also apps for your phone that can help you with this resolution. We recommend downloading Mint.com to track your spending. Once you add your checking account to Mint.com, the app tracks your spending and creates spending categories. Now you can actually see how much you spend each month on going out to eat!

The next financial resolution is one that many people may not even think about. We would encourage everyone to increase their contributions to their employer-sponsored retirement plan, if possible. If you don’t know how much of your income is going into your retirement account, the beginning of the year is a great time to find out and possibly increase this percentage. The contributions are taken pre-tax from your paycheck, and your contributions can grow tax-deferred.

Our final financial resolution would be to plan for upcoming financial goals. Do you have a big vacation planned for 2019? Do you want to retire at the end of the year? Great! Planning for these goals helps tremendously. Lay out a plan and decided on a course of action to help you reach this goal. Of course, we are here to help you achieve your goals and develop a plan to get there.

2019 is coming fast, and this year, your New Year's resolutions don’t have to revolve around running on the treadmill. Consider adding some financial resolutions to your list and let us help you achieve these goals. If you have any questions or resolutions that we could help you with, please let us know!