Financial Resolutions 2014

It is 2014 now and it will be tight in terms of budgeting since I won't be out for onsite work. I found one blogpage which caught my attention as talks about budgeting is truly worth hearing. 

[repost]

"It would be apt that I share my financial resolutions like others. These are a few inspirations that can help my finances better. And I hope yours too. Plus, these are relatively easy that anyone can keep and realize all year round.

Setting up a financial goal. I already have a financial goal to reach this 2014. I want to have this particular amount before 2014 ends. Having a goal in mind will motivate you to work hard and save harder to reach it. This will also dictate how you will handle your finances for the year. Plus you can also serve this as a motivation to pursue other cash flow avenues. Check the cash flow quadrant I shared here. Setting up this goal does not only limit to how much you would want to save for the year. This also includes saving up for retirement or more. When making this one, make sure it is attainable and realistic.

Keep track of my finances. This year I want to keep track of my finances. Knowing such items would let you identify just how much you are spending in a day or in a month. With this, I already have a mini notebook with me that I shall be taking wherever I go. I also downloaded an Android app in my phone that also does the same thing. I shall be sharing this app in my future posts. Noting my expenses will also help me identify where my money goes.

Pay off debts. I still have major debts to pay and I carefully planned it to finish within the year. Thank God for salary deduction that I would be force to pay it. It is better to have a plan to pay the debts that you have. If you don’t have an automated salary deduction, it is your responsibility to do the paying. However, the house mortgage is still the major concern for me now so I must prioritized it. 

Five Envelope Salary. "My Maid Invests in the Stock Market" book by Bo Sanchez suggested following the five envelope salary. This means dividing your salary to five envelopes. These are Tithe Fund, Expenses Fund, Support Fund, Emergency Fund and Retirement Fund. When I have my salary before, I normally divide it into two, savings and expenses fund. Now, the book let me realize that you also need to give to the church, beef up your emergency fund and also your retirement fund. The retirement fund may be in a form of investment like stocks or mutual funds. For my Tithe Fund, I plan to set a portion of my salary for charity. For support fund it would be dedicated to education of my kid and budget for my mother and an unemployed sister. GOD will provide! 

These might be pretty hard to keep but with discipline, dedication plus GOD's help, I know I can make it. 

The most popular these days is the "52-Week Money Challenge". This became viral in the Philippines which started this week. In this money saving challenge, you have to save up on something really nice at the end of the year. This could be buying a new gadget or having a vacation somewhere. You can also build up your emergency fund or retirement fund from here.

The 52 week money saving challenge is certainly a great way to save this year. After all, you are compounding the money in different intervals making it simple and cost effective. To get you started with this challenge here are a few items that you need.

• A goal. This will keep you motivated to save and save. Simply imagine getting your most coveted gadget by the end of the year. Or perhaps buying gifts for your family and friends. Simply pick an item that you normally don’t splurge. From there, break it down in terms of your weekly amount to save. Thinking of the item I would want to buy made me giggle and happy. I simply can’t wait to get started.

• A piggy bank. The original poster has a clear bottle where he puts the money. I prefer a covered one though so I won’t see the money stack in there and count how much I already saved. You can use a plastic container, a bottle, a jar or just about anything. This will be called a grownup piggy bank. 

• Template. The challenge has an existing template that we can print out and tape in our piggy bank. However, since the amount is in dollars, it can be translated nto Philippine Peso and altered the dollar equivalent to Php50. "