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10 Tips to Identify Your Financial Goals

Want to maintain a great financial status? These are the best tips to identify your financial goals right now.

By Rachel BlanchardPublished 6 years ago 7 min read
Top Story - March 2018
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We have to admit, our life literally runs on money. Without money, we won't have all of the things we have right now. Our house, car, clothes, food, it all runs on money. And for something that's so valuable in our lives, we have to properly maintain what we're earning and spending. And yes, it's serious, because when you end up becoming bankrupt and lose nearly everything that you own, then you're in big trouble.

However, that won't happen if you're on top of your financial game. You have to be wise with your money—it doesn't grow on trees, you know. Start saving up, start spending less, begin investing, and begin a retirement plan. All of these are great tips to identify your financial goals. To see improvement when it comes to your financial status, I highly suggest following these methods.

Have enough insurance coverage.

There are many people out there who are persuaded into getting insurance that they might not even need. Insurance that they probably will never use for coverage, but spending so much on it a month. These are the types of insurance that you shouldn't consider at all.

The types of insurance that you should definitely have are life, health, and auto insurance. If you believe that you need any other form of insurance, then go right ahead. But if you're hesitant over a certain insurance, but someone is attempting to persuade you into it, don't buy it. You know the insurance you're supposed to have and if you're hesitant over one, then don't consider it.

From the tips to identify your financial goals, it's so important to always know where your money is going. Constantly check your credit card bills to see specific transactions, be aware of where you're putting your money into, and never be ignorant with your cash. Your money is super important to you, especially if you're spending big money, so know exactly where it's going.

An amazing app that keeps up with your spending, create budgets, and track all of your bills is Mint. With this app, you will constantly know where your money is going. From spending at the grocery store to filling up gas in your car, you'll have your full financial status in one place without anything missing out. If you're the type who doesn't exactly know where your money goes every month, Mint will be your lifesaver. It's also one of the best apps to help you manage your money.

Maintaining a good emergency fund.

Every single person out there must have an emergency fund. Among the important tips to identify your financial goals, you should seriously start saving up for an emergency fund. Many people look down at this tip, because they believe that either they have enough money for any form of emergency, or they strongly believe that an emergency won't be coming any time soon.

Emergencies like medical or automobile accidents can occur at any time of any day. Since it's so unexpected, you'll never know when something will happen. And when something does happen, you won't be financially prepared for it. So, start saving for an emergency fund now, or your financial status will collapse because of an emergency that you didn't expect. Plus, there are ways to save money easier.

What will your financial status look like after retirement? Now that you're not working anymore, how are you earning money? This is where a retirement fund comes into play. There are people out there who don't even consider saving for their retirement until they're way older, because during that time, they're just noticing that they don't have enough money to cover themselves once they stop working.

This is possibly the worst thing anyone can do. Everyone should certainly start planning their retirement in their 20s. This way, when it's time to retire, you'll have enough money to cover yourself. A great app to calculate and prepare you for retirement is the Retirement Calculator. It'll give you the exact amount you should start saving a month, combine it to a year, and even show you your savings years from now.

Learn how to live less than you earn.

There are people who mastered this, and then there are people who spend like they're millionaires, but they're no where near millionaires. Learning how to live less than you earn is important—especially if you don't make much. You have to learn how to settle for something that's comfortable and not extraordinary. This is certainly one of the smarter tips to identify your financial goals.

You can definitely still live comfortably, but without all the high-end material. Simply buy exactly what you need, and never spend so much money on things that you don't need.

Having a great credit score is super crucial when it comes to buying large purchases like cars and a house. You want to show your credit card company that you're capable of paying your debt through big payments. And that you can handle large future loans. Focusing on building a strong credit report is among the tips to identify your financial goals.

If you own a credit card and you're only making little payment, your credit score won't rise. In fact, it can collapse this way, because it shows that you're not capable of having a credit card, and even capable of paying off big loans. Credit Karma is the perfect app that shows you your full credit report and can break down what's going on in your score. There is also free credit monitoring to guide you into noticing any suspicious acts happening.

Getting out of debt completely.

From the best tips to identify your financial goals, you should completely get out of debt. Cleaning out all forms of debt is seriously the best feeling. You're relieved of the debt that's been nagging you for so long. In fact, everyone can get out of debt, no matter their income.

When you get out of debt, this means that you have full control of your income. You can also start saving and investing more, now that you're debt-fee. Not to mention that it'll make quitting the job that you hate more easier, because you won't need a specific income amount.

Yes, investing is certainly one of the smartest tips to identify your financial goals. Believe it or not, investing is the only way you can make money in your sleep! When you invest, you're gaining more money than how much you put into investing. So you should definitely start investing in your 20s.

Stash is the perfect app to give you the guidelines in all forms of investing. From choosing from over 30 investments to getting access in tips and advice, you'll be a pro investor with this app. The Smart-Save feature also saves your spare cash automatically!

Begin saving for large future purchases.

Now that you know that you should start saving up for an emergency fund, this also means that you should start saving for bigger purchases in the future! Since it's among the tips to identify your financial goals, sometime in your life, you're going to make big purchases. From a house to cars, these things can seriously drain your wallet. That's why it's important to keep some money on the side just for those.

You can save money every month and make it a habit without realizing it! Split apart your income to bills, emergency fund, pleasurable spending, and extra money on the side for the future. Because when it's time to buy a house and you haven't been saving up, you wouldn't be able to afford it.

Lastly from the best tips to identify your financial goals is having a financial advisor. Financial advisors guide you through your finance and give you tips and advice on how to maintain it all. It's give having a second brain in focusing on your financial status.

However, there are financial advisors out there who are pretty pricy. Instead, this app can be your best financial advisor ever for free! Betterment is an app that gives you the best tips on how to invest your money, keep you on track of your financial status, and much more.

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About the Creator

Rachel Blanchard

Does hot yoga, has 3 Yorkies and a hamster, and listens to John Mayer religiously.

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