How To Find The Keys To Financial Success This Year

I love January because It feels like we’ve begun a fresh new start to the new year.

As I pack up the Christmas decorations it just feels like I’m preparing to begin a new chapter and I get excited for what will unfold as the year gets underway.

Since it is a month of new beginnings and that usually includes identifying resolutions, what if this was the year that you gained the keys to financial success?

That’s where I come in… this year I’d like to be your financial guidance companion.

I want to be your guide to help point out distractions and potential pitfalls so that WE (you and me) can encounter financial success THIS YEAR as we’ve never seen before.

Each month I’ll help shed light on various areas of your finances in order to help you know how to gain financial success.

That way, when we look back at the year, we have clear milestones that helped us forge ahead with our new year’s financial goals.

These financial success tips will help you finally gain control of your finances.

So join me for a year of financial success! Starting today.

Ready?! Let’s explore the details for how we’re gonna start this! As you will read below, for January, your assignments start now!

1. Assess The Situation

Taking stock of your financial situation today can help you determine what you need to do tomorrow. Are you on the right track or do you need to make changes?

And I’ll be honest, this first step is no fun.

However, if you want to start off on the right foot this year, then you need to take an honest look at where you are or you will never know where you need to go. And regardless of the good, the bad or the ugliness of any of it, being “in the know” is the first step to building and executing a successful plan.

This is one of the biggest financial success tips I can give you. You don’t know how to fix your finances unless you know what you’re working with in the first place.

If you have your bills set up for automatic withdrawal, then there is a good chance that you might not have noticed any small increases. Think of this, if each of your bills increased by only $2, then that is $20 per month being sucked into oblivion for no good reason!

You can start your finances on the right track with my Cash Flow Formula! It’s a system that helps you see what’s coming in and going out (and automatically forecasts your cash flow for the rest of the year)! I promise that it’s the easiest way to keep your finances on track but will only take you about 30 minutes each week.

I know this exercise can be super stressful, but knowing is half the battle… now you have a starting place to be able to figure out where you need to go! You’re well on your way to gaining your keys to financial success!

2. Create A Plan

Alright, now that you’ve determined where your money is being spent… now you can create a plan to determine if you want to change any of that spending! This becomes the start on how to gain financial success.

Now listen, I know that you are dreading what I am going to say next… “How about we set up a Budget?” But listen… setting up a budget does NOT mean you have to feel guilty about every single purchase. AND it does NOT mean you have to spend as little money as possible!

Budgeting is simply tracking your expenses so that you know where your money is being spent, that way you are aware of what you could change, should you want to. 

Now that you’ve identified what your expenses are monthly, you need a good overall financial picture. And that is part of the keys to financial success.

Start The Cash Flow Formula Today

That’s where my Cash Flow Formula comes in for the rescue! This program is not actually “budgeting” or putting money in labeled envelopes. It’s showing you how much money comes in each money and how much money comes out. So you know what you’ve got to work with each month and so you can put your money where it needs to go.

If you are paying any monthly bills towards debt, how much do you owe in total?

And the opposite of that, how much are you saving each month? Or, how much do you want to have saved by the end of the year? One thing I always forget to include when we look at our budget is car expenses or special birthday present expenses.

It was being proactive and having a PLAN that mattered most. That way we knew we could have guilt-free fun, and still attain our goals for the month, and essentially the year.

If there is one thing this year that I am striving to become, it is a planner. I have set my goals and now I’m developing an action plan to reach them.

I learned at the end of last year that even just the process of simply writing down my goals helped me to achieve them. Being goal-oriented and following a plan equals taking control of your life. Don’t miss this important step toward improving your financial success this year.

3. Start Saving

Did you determine how much you want to save this year in total? Now break it down into a monthly goal so that you can make plans to accomplish it!

If you want to save $1,000 by the end of the year, that means you will need to save $84 this month.

An “Emergency Fund” is having $1,000 ready for any emergency that might pop up so that you don’t use a credit card. Maybe that is your goal this year on how to gain financial success.

If $84 seems like too much, just put away what you can to start. Here’s a way to save almost $700 this year by just putting away pennies. The main thing to note here is to start small.

Setting simple, yet small, financial goals will build confidence and momentum for you to achieve more difficult ones later on down the road.

Having an emergency fund is a big part of the keys to financial success.

If you already have your $1,000 emergency fund set, then it’s time to work on saving 3 months salary “just in case” you (or your spouse) lose your job. We’ve seen over and over that no job is entirely recession-proof. Having 3 months worth of salary saved up will help you sleep better at night. Trust me.

4. Strategic Shopping

Every single thing you buy goes on sale. And there is a “right way” to buy it… and then there is that “I have to have it right now so there is nothing I can do but pay more than I should” way to buy it. Both are going to happen to you at various times. It’s just the way life goes.

That being said, you’ll notice that my savings strategies tend to have the same thing in common: patience. It should be part of your new year’s financial goals.

• Buying things on sale, verses, when you need or want them, takes patience.
• Knowing that you are going to need a new car/mattress/furniture/{insert any other big item here} and waiting to buy them until you get the best deal, takes patience.
• Heck, shopping at the grocery store and noticing that every item has a lowest price to pay, that takes patience too.

So for January, even though things are probably at their “tightest” because you just spend money on Christmas, and now you have a new New Years Savings Strategy to start out on the right foot, there are things that you might want to buy this month because this is the best time to buy them.

AND you need to have a clear vision about your whole year so that you save THEN because you have bought things right NOW. Because the more you are informed about what you should buy and when, helps you save more money. And saving money is a key factor in the keys to financial success.

Top 5 Items To Buy In January

Here is a quick Top 5 List of items you will want to consider buying in January: {see a full list of items as well as what you should NOT buy in January here}.

1. Wrapping paper for the entire year – Yes, if my kids come to your birthday party, you are going to get a present wrapped in red, green, silver, gold or blue wrap. Because they are super cheap during the month of January.
2. Toys – Stores will be clearing out the excess Christmas inventory! Make a list of kids you’ll need to buy birthday gifts for this year and stock up now!
3. Winter Clothing – Warm-weather clothing collections will start going on sale this month to make room for spring. Stock up for kids in the next size and tuck it away for next year. You will be SO glad to have those items at a fraction of what everyone else is paying.
4. Winter Home Equipment – When everyone else paid full price for these items by purchasing them at the beginning of the season in October and November, you were smart to hold off. So now is the time to get a deal on that snowblower or furnace.
5. Home Fitness Equipment – Retailers are prepared for your New Year’s resolution to lose weight! There are so many in-stock fitness gadgets on the market now, the competition is great for driving the prices down. If you really want a big-ticket exercise machine then now is the time to negotiate a good deal (don’t be afraid to haggle and ask for any other discounts!!). If you can’t find what you want cheap enough… then your best bet is to check yard sales and consignment sporting good stores in a couple of months when everyone has given up hope or has already reached their fitness goals and they sell them super cheap.
   NOTE: If your heart isn’t set on a “new” item, garage sales or used sports equipment stores are great for picking up treadmills, stationary bikes and elliptical machines for super cheap year ’round.

January is bursting with potential. I am excited to put my mind to use this year and think creatively in order to attain some solid goals I already set up for this year.

Stay tuned for each month I’ll help shed light on various areas of your finances in order to help you know how to gain financial success.

That way, when we look back at the year, we’ll have clear milestones that helped us forge ahead with our new year’s financial goals.

These financial success tips will help you finally gain control of your finances this year!

Because I want you to have the keys to financial success to you will succeed with your finances this year and every year!

Won’t you join me?!  This can be one of your easy-to-implement New Year’s resolutions!

~Here’s to a Wonderfully Successful Year!

Your Turn: Comment below if you are ready to gain the keys to financial success! Also, comment if you have any questions you’d like me to answer as the year unfolds! Let’s have Financial Success together, Friends!

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