Avoid online ticket scammers.
Buying and selling Websites offer an easy way to buy and sell items, but you want to make sure to avoid the fraudsters that also lurk on the sites. To stay safe, always meet in person to exchange goods for cash and never wire money in advance, which is how much of the fraud takes place. And of course, meet in a public place and bring a friend along for added protection.
Stop worrying so much about money.
Worrying about money can eat up a lot of time. One survey found that 36 percent of respondents said they spend at least two hours a day either worrying about their finances or handling them. Companies might want to take note, and consider offering employees free resources to help alleviate some of that strain and help get people back to work.
Talk money with your partner.
Finances can cause huge rifts in romantic relationships, but they don’t have to, especially if the couple commits to addressing tension as soon it comes up. Financial experts recommend always being honest with the other person, making money dates to review finances and talk through big decisions and reflect on how each person’s upbringing affects their financial mindset. Then, you can work together on setting, and reaching, big money goals – from buying a home to traveling.
Think about your future self.
If you think about your future self, then you’re more likely to put money aside for that future self to one day use. Stopping yourself before splurging, even on small luxury items like a cup of coffee, to ask yourself if you would prefer to grow that money in a retirement savings account.
Cultivate patience.
Being impatient isn’t just rude, it can also be costly. It is believed that People with less patience also tend to have lower loan debt, which can make it more expensive to take out loans. Your future self comes into play here, too: You can cultivate a greater degree of patience by thinking more about the long term than the short term and focusing on long-term values and goals.
Help others with their money.
Whether you’re at the stage of helping your aging parents handle their finances or coaching your children how to manage money (or perhaps you’re facing both tasks simultaneously), you might benefit from simply having more conversations about money. Children who talk more frequently with their parents about saving tend to practice better financial habits when they’re older. Similarly, adult children can help their aging parents by asking them key money questions about their long-term care and retirement plans.
Save more money.
Having enough emergency savings stored away to handle unexpected expenses, from a root canal to a car accident, can prevent those kind of events from sending you deep into credit card debt. To begin building your nest egg, start small by saving just GHC 5 a day and slowly ramp that up over time. To make it easier, consider automating transfers into savings accounts each month.
Develop a strategy
Once you know where you’re going, you need a plan to get there. The usual route is to spend less than you earn and invest the surplus in such a way that you can get where you want to go.
One word of caution if you’ve identified your goals but you’re in debt, you probably should address that debt before you start investing for the future. Even when people are not overspending and have debts that carry reasonable interest rates, I encourage them to work aggressively at paying those debts down. Don’t even think about investing before your debts are all gone.
Calculate your retirement number.
Most people don’t bother crunching their retirement number the amount they need to save by retirement to maintain their lifestyle but doing so can be helpful and may provide motivation to increase monthly savings into retirement accounts. Online calculators make it easy to generate an estimate; you can also multiply your current salary by 12 for a quick ballpark figure.
Set Short-Term Goals – Long-Term Goals Will Take Care of Themselves
Life holds many uncertainties and a lot can change between now till the end of next year and into the future. As such, the prospect of planning far into the future is a daunting task and in many ways, it’s often an exercise in futility for young investors.
Rather than setting long-term goals, set a series of small short-term goals. These goals could be a simple as trying to pay off all outstanding loans or student loans in a matter of months. Maybe your goal is to contribute to your company’s pension plan with a set salary reduction contribution each month. Setting short-term goals that will help you to advance in your career is important in helping you get ahead. Remember, these short-term goals should be measurable and precise. You can’t win a race if there’s no finish line.
As you achieve your short-term goals, set other short-term goals. Maybe you want to buy a house, earn a promotion at work or buy a new car. The constant setting and achieving of short-term goals will ensure that you reach your longer-term goals.
Boost your financial literacy.
Many Ghanaians struggle with even basic financial literacy, including calculating compound interest and understanding the benefits of using tax-advantaged accounts. Educating yourself about some of the basic principles, including always earning more than you spend and diversifying investments, can pay off.
Now that sounds like the path to a successful, and satisfying, year.
Author: Gabriel Ofori Yeboah
Fund Manager, Investor, Broker, FX Trader, Consultant–(Investment, Financial Analyst, Banking) and CEO & FOUNDER–GOY FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS
Email: gabbynanaoforiyeboah@gmail.com Tel: 0246751535
