Five Tips to Have a Financially Fierce Year

New year, new you?  Not necessarily.  Remember, you can reset, restart or make changes to any area of your life at any time.  You absolutely do not need to wait until the turn of the year.  

Saying that though, if you had a pricey December and the winter months feel like the perfect time to really dig into your financial house, or you've been putting this off for so long and the time is yesterday - I wanted to share five tips that will ensure you have a financially fierce year!

Number 1:  Make goals. First and foremost. You can’t crush any goals if you don’t have any.

Write them down. Break them down into smaller pieces. Make sure they are specific and measurable and realistic, otherwise what's the point of setting them if you can never achieve them? 

Let's say the goal is save $10k this year. How much is that monthly? $833 per month. Is that realistic? Maybe you get a bonus each year that can contribute or a tax return or side hustle. Either way really make sure you can define success in achieving them and make sure they are a bit of a stretch but realistic!  And then...get to work!

Number 2:  Pay yourself first. You’ve heard it a million times but automating your investment payments to yourself is the fastest way to build wealth consistently.   If you try to contribute what is left at the end of the month, trust me - there won't be much. 

Money is energy, it needs a job.  So be intentional with it.  Make your investment contributions automatic, so they are a no-brainer and they always occur no matter what - unless of course something dire happens, like you lose your job.   

If your employer has a pension matching scheme, this is the easiest way to get started.  Max that out so that you are getting the maximum that your employer will contribute on your behalf - this is compensation and free money.  Once you've set that up, then you can do some extra to your TFSA with your after-tax dollars.  But again, define how much this can be using a budget or calculating your fixed expenses and set up those automatic withdrawls.

You'll be so pleased at the end of the year when you see how much you've accumulated!   My rule of thumb is to aim for at least 20% of your monthly take home to investments.  If you have more disposable income, then you should be doing more.

Number 3:  Add another income stream this year.   2022 was a perfect example of a year where this tip was so important.  The financial markets in North America suffered double digit declines year over year.  If you have multiple income streams and ways to invest, then you won't suffer as much year to year when the different markets cycle, as they do. Diversifying our different types of investments and the ways we earn income is critical to growing wealth.

Take an inventory of what you have:

• Salary
• Side hustle/business income
• Rental income
• Dividend income
• Interest income
• Capital gains income
• Subscription income

First, assess what you have now and aim to add one more by year end. There is so much abundance in this world and there is enough for all us!  

Number 4: What you measure moves. So if you set money goals and you monitor them, you have a much better shot at achieving them.  Because money gravitates to those that work at it.  This won’t happen without intention my friends.

I’m obsessed with my money. I’m watching it. Moving it. Investing it. Learning different way to invest it.  Calculating my net worth every month because I am actively working at making it grow.  And you can too but it’s not magic. You must work at it.

If you feel like you're starting at ground zero on this one, try committing one hour a week to your money.  That might be tracking it, monitoring your bank accounts, casting a budget, learning how to inves etc.  Do this for the year and see how your money landscape will dramatically change.

Number 5:  Protect your Focus.  What do I mean by that?  Well, we only have finite focus, time and attention.  Surround yourself with people and pages that will inspire, teach and motivate you to move toward growth.

Have you ever heard the saying by Jim Rohn  "You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with"?  So if you are focusing on gossip and lipsticks pages or spending time with people that focus on that - how can you grow somewhere else? Be conscious of who and what you spend your focus on.  Choose your pages and your people wisely.  If you need to add some like-minded people into your life - find groups, network....there are almost 8 billion people in the world, I promise you can find one or two that have a similar interest or goal.  Go hang out where they hang out (either virtually or physically).  Attend events, courses, communities.  You will find them.

Now go have the most amazingly financially fierce year!  And if you want more content like this, check out my free guide on 10 Money Myths that are keeping you from being rich!