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This post is sponsored by DOSH and contains affiliate links. The content and opinions are my own.
How To Reach Your Financial Goals in 2018
Are you looking forward to 2018? As the new year approaches, I find myself thinking a lot of about my long-term goals for the year. What is it that I want to accomplish? What would I do differently from the year before? As a small business owner and entrepreneur, having goals is essential to staying focused and motivated.
I’ve bought my 2018 planner and started making a list of my goals for 2018. Every year my financial goals make it to the top of my list. There is a recurring theme every year, save more and spend less. I imagine our family is not alone in this. We’ve been able to successfully meet our goals but it did require work and determination.
3 Ways To Get Started
Here are three ways that will help you save more and spend less in 2018. As with any goal, make sure remind yourself often why you want to reach your goal. Perhaps, you want to travel more (like us). Maybe, you want to live debt free or to save money for the unexpected. Whatever your reason is, keep the “why” in front of you at all times, this will be the greatest motivator.
1. Get Organized
You can’t underestimate the value of being organized. Too often we become overwhelmed with our financial situation because we have failed at being organized. For some of us, we need planners, excel spreadsheets, and post-it notes before we can get our mind wrapped around our projects/goals. A carpenter wouldn’t start building a house without the right tools, being organized is essential, get the right tools.
Track your progress throughout the year. Being organized will help you do this. Plan to reach monthly goals that will put you on track to reach your final goal, we’ve found that this helps put us on the road to success. Sometimes, the big picture can be overwhelming, but when you break it into small pieces, it becomes manageable.
2. Find Ways To Shop Smarter
Throughout the year, no matter hard we work to save money, there are times when we have to go shopping. I have a family of five and someone is always in need of clothes, shoes, beauty products and more! It’s never-ending. I’ve learned over the years that there are various ways I can save my family money by shopping smarter.
I try to save large purchases for Black Friday or Cyber Monday if at all possible so that I can get the best possible deals on them. Normally we’ll stock up on towels, pillows, sheets, Tupperware, and more during that time of year. I keep a list of items that I know I will restock up on each year during Black Friday shopping.
I’ve also discovered the DOSH app which is my all-time favorite app for saving money! I’ve used a lot of money saving/cash back app in the past and this one is far better than any others. Read ‘How I’m Earning More and Shopping The Same‘ for a step-by-step guide on how to download and use the app.
Whether you’re shopping at Sams Club or booking a hotel room, downloading DOSH will save you money. Last week alone I earned $52 cash back. The best part is, NO scanning receipts, NO mailing in rebates, NO coupon codes to enter. Just link your debit card and earn cash back on any qualifying purchase.
3. Know Where You’re Spending Your Money
Have you ever deposited money into your bank account and then a few days later wonder where it all went? I know I have. I’ve learned that keeping an eye on where I’m spending my money is instrumental in developing a plan to save more money. I’ve used programs that link to my bank account that help my categorize where we spend our funds. As a family, we will sit down and discuss areas where we feel we are spending too much and get everyone on board with making changes to stay on a budget. This has been key to reaching our goals.
What areas does your family spend the most money? Could you eliminate a few monthly subscriptions, coffee shops stops, or dining out? These may not seem like your highest expenses, however, you might be surprised if you added them all together. Our families weakness is dining out, we’ve had to come up with some real boundaries to avoid spending the money we had planned to save. Get the entire family on board with reaching these financial goals.
We hope these tips will help you as you work to achieve your 2018 financial goals.
