Yay, you want to start your personal finance journey! This is such a big step and one that you’ll wish you started sooner. In light of your recent stellar decision-making, I’m sharing 8 things to know before starting your personal finance journey to help guide you for the road ahead.
Let’s get to it!
1. There’s more than one way to budget
From cash envelopes to spreadsheets, there are many different ways to budget, and the only way to know which works best for you is to try different ones. Check out this post, to find out what budgeting method will work best for your lifestyle.
2. Beware of information overwhelm
There is A LOT of information about what you should and shouldn’t do with your money. Firstly, you don’t have to do everything all at once. Start small when it comes to your personal finance journey. What do you need or want to do with your money right now? If it’s saving or paying off debt, then start there.
3. Don’t be so hard on yourself
In the age of social media, it can seem like we’re three steps behind everyone else. Financial setbacks are hard but don’t let them discourage you. Remember that you’re on your own journey, and your own timeline, and not everything you see on Instagram is reality. The fact that you even want to start a personal finance journey deserves some praise!
4. Don’t aim for perfection
Don’t let the idea that you have to have the perfect budget, investment portfolio, or debt repayment plan hold you back from reaching your goals. The best thing you can do is try things out and find out what works or doesn’t for you.
5. Make both short-term and long-term goals
Whilst on your personal finance journey, I’d suggest making both short-term and long-term goals. Setting clear goals for your future can really help motivate you and hopefully ease your worries for the future. For example, a short-term goal could be paying off your outstanding debts and a long-term goal could be saving for retirement or buying a home.
6. This journey is ongoing
This will be a lifelong journey, so get comfortable with the idea that you’ll always be learning. Read this post, for some budgeting inspiration to help you start this awesome new journey!
7. Get to know your spending habits
What kind of spender are you? Do you tend to shop out of boredom? Getting to the heart of your money habits can really help you on your journey.
8. Investing isn’t just for the rich
I don’t mean investing in crypto-currency, NFTs, or day trading, the investing I’m referring to is the more boring kind. The kind that will help you bulk up your retirement fund and will see your money grow over decades, instead of a get-rich-quick scheme. Investing your money is one of the smartest things you can do to grow your money for the long term and you don’t need a big pile of cash to start.
Are you new to personal finance? I have a ton of posts from when I was in $30k worth of debt to how I doubled my net worth in a year. Let’s get you excited about your money and your journey ahead!
Let me know if there’s anything you’d add to the list if you’re far into your journey!
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