Financial Growth: 4 Tips to Manage Your Finances in 2021

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A new year means new goals. Getting on track financially is probably at the top of your to-do list for 2021. Especially since 2020 threw so many of us off track when it comes to our finances. Crushing your financial growth goals means creating budgets, banking wisely, and protecting yourself online, among other things. So, if you’re ready to see your finances soar in 2021, take a look at these four tips to help get you and your business’s finances off to a good start.

1. Setting Goals for Financial Growth

Before you create a budget or try to learn to manage your finances effectively, you’ll need to set some financial goals. That means figuring out what it is you want financially. Do you want to buy a house? Invest for retirement? Save for your kid’s college fund? Create a financial snapshot that outlines what goals you have for your future. Then write them down in a notebook, on your computer or even in your phone. Be sure to include short-term, mid-term and long-term financial goals.

Make sure the goals you set are specific enough so that you know exactly what you need to do to work towards achieving them. For example, if one of your goals is to buy a house, get specific. Write down, “I want to buy a house in five years and have a down payment of $20,000.” Then, write down steps to take to reach that goal. For example, “Save $300 a month for five years.”

2. Create a Budget You Can Follow

Creating a budget means determining your monthly income and expenses so that you can save and invest the way you want to and reach your financial growth goals. The first step to creating a budget is to understand the budgeting process, which is:

Figure out your after-tax income
Choose a budgeting plan
Track your progress
Automate your savings
Revisit your budget regularly (or as needed)

You could also try a simple budget like the 50/30/20 budget rule. So, that means you save 50 percent of your after-tax income for necessities, leaving 30 percent for wants and putting 20 percent toward savings and debt repayment.

3. Get Identity Theft Protection

Once you’ve got everything in motion and you’re set up to start saving to reach your financial growth goal, it’s time to think about protecting your wealth. Identity theft protection can help you protect your newly acquired wealth by safeguarding your private and personal information when you shop online.

Identity theft monitoring programs like those offered by LifeLock are a worthwhile investment to make when it comes to reaching your financial goals. With people banking online now more than ever, it’s important to make sure your information is protected. Even better? Get started now with identity theft protection discounts offered by LifeLock.

4. Increase Your Income

The one surefire way to ensure you see financial growth is to increase your income. You can do that in a number of ways, including getting a side gig, asking for a raise, joining the gig economy (Shipt, InstaCart, DoorDash, UberEats, etc.). You can also try learning a new skill to get a better job.

Find something you’re good at or something that doesn’t take much effort or time and start earning your extra money to put toward reaching your financial goals. Figure out how much extra money you need to earn to reach your goals. Write it down and strive for it every single day.

Crushing Your Financial Goals in 2021

If you want to improve your financial growth in 2021, you have to take control of your finances by setting those financial goals, creating a budget, and sticking to it, getting identity theft protection, and increasing your income. So follow these guidelines to set yourself up for success in 2021.