Regardless of your take-home pay, start setting financial goals and consider where you want to be one year to fifteen years from now. Most people desire a lifestyle that is debt-free and healthy. We all want to live comfortably, be active and productive, and have sufficient (and more) to live on. It is relatively simple with commitment and consistency.
Some valuable advice to get there is to start a healthy lifestyle by caring for your body. Jogging, eating healthy meals, joining a gym, or hiring a fitness trainer, for example, are suggestions to lead you on a path to good health. If you don’t know where to begin, trainers have all the solutions on various networking platforms.
If you are a fitness instructor, ExpertVoice offers fitness instructor discounts for the expertise you provide. Companies like ExpertVoice have a broad platform with many experts offering advice and their professional opinions on products. Consumers and professionals can sign-up at no charge to join as a member and start saving money. The platform comprises retailers, consumers, brands, and experts.
While you are working on living a healthy lifestyle, it is a great time to focus on your financial goals and create a budget. You can manually create a budget, use financial software or spreadsheets, or download an app to track your income and expenses. The same way you track the progression of your health is like monitoring your savings and spending. For spending, check out five things you should avoid if you want to save money.
Five Things to Avoid
- Avoid lending cash you can’t afford
- Don’t live above your means. If you can’t afford to buy a product, don’t spend the money that will set you back in debt
- If you have a 401K, never withdraw your funds so you won’t have to pay taxes and service fees
- Never spend money carelessly. If you do, you will waste money that could go towards an investment or in a savings account
- To avoid overspending, never go shopping for groceries without a list that you stick to or head to the malls to window shop
Five Ways to Manage Your Money
- Manage your finances and budget using a financial system
- Set and monitor short-term and long-term goals. Short-term goals include your monthly expenses and money you set aside in a savings or an investment option. Investments should be long-term mutual funds that offer high returns.
- Calculate your total income and expenses to determine how much to invest and save
- Keep your checkbook balanced and analyze your spending
- Commit to and monitor your budget
Investment Solution for Retirement
If you live on a fixed income and have plans of building a retirement plan over time, invest money in mutual funds. You have the option of selecting a regular or direct mutual fund plan. A regular mutual fund plan provides professional advice, market research, and portfolio monitoring services. This plan involves paying an agent commission and has low returns and a higher expense ratio.
The best mutual fund plan is direct if you have knowledge of or learn about market research and tracking an investment portfolio. You perform the research, analyze the markets, and monitor your portfolio. One great benefit of the direct plan is that there are no commission fees to pay. Other benefits include high returns and low expense ratios.
Today, people are investing in using their smartphones, computers, and tablets. There are thousands of brokerage firms with reputable brokers and agents to help you invest online. The sign-up process is simple on the agent’s or firm’s website. Before selecting a professional from a brokerage firm or banking institution, do your research on reputation and customer satisfaction reviews.
The advancement in technology over the years is allowing people to invest by downloading apps. There are hundreds of apps from investment companies and brokerage firms available for all income earners.
The key to successful financial planning and saving for the future is creating a budget and maintaining self-control with self-discipline. You must commit to your plans and constantly monitor your spending. What makes life complete is balance, financial security, and good health. You have the ability to transform your thinking about finances.
