13 Things You Must Do for More Financial Success

Hello, friends. And thanks for joining me this week. I’m Laura Adams, and this is a special week because it marks my 30th anniversary writing and hosting the money girl podcast.

Yes, it all started back in early August, 2008. In the spring of that year, I had a call with Manion Fogarty. She’s the host of the grammar girl podcast and founder of the quick and dirty tips podcast network. At that time, the network was growing and she was kind enough to invite me to be the money girl host and the rest is history. And by the way is celebrating her 15th year hosting grammar girl. So if you’re not subscribed to that show, be sure to check it out. And it’s fantastic. My mission here has always been to help you get the knowledge and motivation to prioritize your finances, build wealth, and have more security and less stress. Whether you’ve been with me since the beginning or you’re a brand new subscriber. I’m so grateful to have you listening. The success of the show has brought so many terrific opportunities for me to publish books, speak to audiences and do PR and media work to celebrate 13 years of money.

Girl, I’m going to cover 13 things that I do in real life, and that I recommend for more financial success as always the companion blog posts for the show will be published in the money girl [email protected]. Today’s episode is number 694 called 13 things you must do for more financial success. Let’s get into it. Number one is protect your ability to earn an income. This is something that I’ve just always been a priority for me. I guess the idea is that if you don’t have stable income or enough income, you really don’t have what you need to do. Everything that you want with your financial goals. You know, it’s really difficult to achieve goals when you don’t have that income to make it happen. So protecting that income is really, really critical for success. And I would say even creating additional sources of income is probably the best thing you can do for more financial success.

Not only does an extra income stream help you pay the bills and eliminate debt faster, but it helps you stay safe. If one of those streams of income dries up, consider how you can use the skills that you already have, and that you’re already putting into work at your day job to create a profitable side business. What interests do you have that other people would pay for such as online tutoring, gardening, driving for rideshare apps, caring for pets or riding. If you don’t have time to create an additional source of income, could you ask for a raise or a promotion at taking a higher level job may be the ticket to earning more or staying as relevant as possible to your employer. The second thing you need to do is maintain a healthy cash reserve. This is just another foundational thing that I’ve always put into practice in my life.

Having some amount of an emergency cushion to fall back on really gives me a lot of peace and it helps me know that whatever happens I’m really going to be okay. So if you’ve been following the money girl blog or podcast, I’m sure that you’ve heard me discuss the importance of building a cash reserve. It’s also called an emergency fund. It should be a top priority so that you’re never backed into a corner. Financially speaking, having savings is one of the best ways to have more financial success, because it protects you from hardship like having a significant unexpected medical expense or losing your job or business income. If you don’t have a financial cushion to fall back on, it could force you into debt. And that could take you years or even decades to recover from. If you get a raise at work or you’ve got a profitable year in your business, it can be really tempting to spend the excess, but the trick to building a healthy cash reserve is to save diligently when times are good, having that discipline will really pay off.

So before you book a vacation or buy a coveted luxury item, make sure that you’ve got plenty of cash in the bank. I know saving is not as much fun as splurging, but the best way to make sure you’re ready when bad luck strikes is to prepare for it today, keep your emergency money in an FDI insured bank account. So it’s completely safe. Nope. You’re not going to earn much interest there, but that’s not the goal for your cash reserve. Ideally you should save at least three to six months worth of your living expenses in that dedicated account. However, depending on your work and family situation, you might need more than that. If you have not started building a cash reserve, I know it can seem daunting. Don’t worry. Don’t freak out. I just want you to get started by taking small steps, make a goal to accumulate, maybe a hundred dollars, then 500 and a thousand, trying to get that goal accomplished as quickly as you can.

Not only does having an emergency fund protect your finances, but as I mentioned, it also gives you incredible peace of mind. And I think it eliminates a lot of stress in our lives. All right, my third recommendation is adopt. Long-term thinking everyone’s definition of financial success is different for most of us. It’s not going to come from an inheritance or winning the lottery, reaching significant achievements, such as saving enough for a comfortable retirement only results from long-term planning that may take decades. If you make small continuous improvements that compound over time, you can achieve just about any desired outcome that you want. For example, let’s say you want to retire with more than a million dollars. You would need to invest $300 a month starting in your twenties or 800 a month, starting in your thirties or $1,200 a month, starting in your forties. So you see where I’m going.

They’re starting early, allows you to pay less out of pocket for a comfortable retirement. The more time you allow for your investments to grow and compound the less you’ve got to invest to achieve your goal. So the sooner you take a long-term view, the easier it is to build a secure future or achieve any dreams you have. The four thing to know is you’ve got to stay focused on your money goals. If you don’t set financial goals, you’ll probably spend money on a thousand other things. So take some time to figure out what you want to achieve with your money, what financial and non-financial dreams to you have. And if you’re not sure what your financial goals should be, I want to recommend a very simple exercise. Imagine your life five years from now, consider where you’re living and how you spend your time in five years.

What would you be proud to say that you had accomplished between now and then stretch out your imagination a little bit farther and do the same exercise, thinking about your life in 10 years, and then 20 years, then imagine you’re on your death bed with just a few hours left to live. What accomplishments would make you feel really good about yourself, even in the final hours of your life. These really big questions can help, you know, what you genuinely want to achieve with your money. And they can really inspire you without clear financial goals. It’s not easy to see what you’re making sacrifices and working for. I’ve got an excellent resource that can help you get started. If you’re struggling with goals, it’s called the financial planning workbook and you can send me a text message with the phrase, my plan, M Y P L a N no space to the number 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, and download this workbook.

If you set aside some quiet time to complete it, I guarantee you’re going to come away knowing what your financial goals are. You might even want to get your spouse or partner involved so that you can create goals that align with the future you envision for yourself and your family. For me, my financial goals have definitely changed over the years. I’ve always had retirement as a really foundational goal, but I also had a goal to pay off debt at a certain point of my life and to build emergency savings. I have all of that done now. So is really just my key focus. And I just always filter every decision that I make with my finances around that goal. Is it helping me get closer to my retirement goals or is it taking me further away from that goal? And I will only do the things that are helping me get closer to reaching my financial goal.

All right. The fifth thing to know is you’ve got to stop overspending a critical thing for more financial success is definitely living within your means. This is harder for some people than others to be comfortable later. You may need to feel slightly uncomfortable today. So evaluate your priorities carefully and give up any unnecessary spending that’s holding you back from achieving more. For me, I’ve found that calculating the value of my time is a really powerful way to understand what something truly costs. So before you reach for your credit card, you want to do some quick math. For example, let’s say you earn $60,000 a year. That means you earn about $30 an hour. If you see a pair of shoes or something you want online, that costs $300, you would have to work 10 hours on a pre-tax basis to pay for it, to figure the cost of an item on an after-tax basis.

Take about 20 to 25% off of your hourly rate. So that would take you from $30 an hour down to $23 an hour. That means you’d have to work more than 13 hours to pay for a $300 item after taxes are accounted for, if you would not happily trade 13 hours of work for something, forget about it. As I mentioned, I find this technique really helpful because many times I’m tempted to buy a luxury item or something that I certainly could afford, but don’t necessarily need. And when I think about what it costs me in time, it really does put it in perspective and, and make me kind of reevaluate. I also implement a 24 hour waiting period. So this is another technique. If you’re overspending right now, make sure that you wait at least 24 hours, ideally even 48 hours before you buy anything over a certain amount. So maybe you set up a hundred dollars as your limit that will put a little bit of time between you and purchasing an item.

Number six, watch your cash flow, understanding exactly how you earn, spend and save is vital because it’s the foundation of your financial life. If you’re not sure how much money is coming in and going out, you will not be able to manage it intentionally the best way to watch and manage your cashflow is to use a digital tool that aggregates your financial accounts in one place. I’m a really big fan of Quicken for individuals and QuickBooks for small businesses. These are the gold standards in personal finance software, and there are many other really great programs out there. So just try to find something that works for you. What happens is once you enter the credentials that you use to log into your various financial sites, every time you open one of these programs like Quicken or QuickBooks, it automatically connects to your accounts and pulls in all the new transactions.

Then you categorize the entries using suggested or customized labels, such as groceries, insurance, medical, or rent. If you want to track your cashflow, the old fashioned way, you can definitely use an Excel spreadsheet or Google sheets. You can even automate the process with Google sheets by subscribing to tiller. It’s T I L L E R, which will connect to your financial accounts and import the transactions into the spreadsheet, which is pretty handy. As you review your cashflow, be vigilant about categorizing income and expenses correctly. So you’ll have accurate reporting. That’s the best way to understand your spending and where you may be able to cut back most personal finance programs or apps allow you to create a budget. You set a maximum dollar amount, or even a percentage of income for each spending category. Then the program will show you how your actual spending compares with your budget.

If you’re self-employed, you may have variable income, which can make it challenging to budget. I actually don’t use a budget. I’ve talked about this before. I have a top down approach where I pay for my top priority goals like retirement first, and then I live on the rest. However, I will say that creating a budget, maybe an essential part of getting and keeping your finances on track. And even if it is just for a temporary period, it really can be helpful. Number seven, use automation to your advantage. In addition to monitoring your cashflow and spending consciously on priorities, a key to financial success is automating your money without it. You risk having your financial targets fall through the cracks. And I use automation everywhere possible. I just love it. Automating various parts of your finances allows you to build safety nets, such as an emergency fund and retirement savings without thinking about them.

One tip I’ll give you is to ask your employer to split your paycheck between your checking and an emergency savings account workplace. Retirement plans work so well because contributions must come from your paycheck automatically before you have the chance to spend them. If you don’t have a retirement plan at work or you’re self-employed, you can set up an automatic transfer from your checking into a retirement account, such as an IRA or a SEP IRA. If you’re self-employed, you can set up recurring transfers to automatically move money from your checking to other accounts, such as a health savings account, a 5 29 college savings plan, or even a holiday gift fund, or any other goal that you, you may have number eight, manage your debt carefully. Another key to having more financial success is reducing what you owe having fewer or smaller liabilities can take the pressure off.

If your pay gets cut or you lose your job or business income, it can also help you live within your means. If you tend to overspend, even if you don’t have extra money to whittle down debt balances faster, you can cut your interest expense by simply tackling your debt from highest to lowest interest rate. Also consider options such as refinancing, doing a balance transfer or changing your student loan payment plan to make your debt more manageable. At different times in my life, I have used all of these debt optimization techniques to make the debt affordable. Number nine, huh? The right insurance. In addition to protecting your income and having cash in the bank consider how various insurance products can create more financial success. For instance, health insurance is essential for maintaining your physical and your financial health. Even if you’re young and healthy right now while having emergency savings is critical, it probably would not be enough to pay for ongoing medical care.

If you had a severe injury or illness, even a quick trip to the emergency room could set you back. Thousands of dollars, depending on your income and family size, you may even be eligible for government assistance to reduce the cost of health coverage. You can learn more about healthcare [email protected]. Disability insurance is an often overlooked financial product that replaces a portion of your income, such as 60 or 70%. If you cannot work due to a covered accident, illness or injury, it gives you the ability to keep up with your bills and meet living expenses. While you recover. Remember that health insurance pays a portion of covered medical expenses, but not your living expenses such as housing, food, or debt payments. If you can’t work due to a health problem, if you don’t have the option to purchase disability insurance at work, or let’s say you do, but it’s just not sufficient.

I would encourage you to buy a private policy for yourself. In many cases, a monthly disability premium is less than a data plan for your cell phone. Having life insurance is another key policy to consider. Now it won’t help your finances, but it can ensure the financial success of those. You leave behind consider purchasing term life insurance. If you have a partner, spouse or child who depend on you financially, they can be set up as beneficiaries and receive a payout after your death. Life insurance is most affordable when you’re young and in good health. So don’t wait to get coverage if you need it. All right, number 10 is ignore those who don’t support you. The people you spend the most time with always influence you the most. If you’re hanging out with family or friends who do not support your financial goals, listening to them can decrease your likelihood of success.

Instead, spend time with people who are encouraging and genuinely want you to achieve your goals. You’ll be glad you did. Number 11. Don’t get discouraged. If you’ve ever felt discouraged or upset about your financial life. You’re certainly not alone. I’ve been there. I remember being in my twenties with debt and you know, really just feeling upset about it. Many people go through years or even decades, not earning enough, not spending wisely or not having sufficient education to make the best money decisions. The fact that you’re listening to this show means that you’re on the right path to more financial success. So try to stay grateful for what you do have. And sometimes that can really put things in perspective for you. Number 12, focus on what you can control. Often we worry about things that are not in our control, making us feel powerless instead, turn your attention to what you can control and what can set you up for more financial success.

For instance, you can’t prevent having a disability that keeps you from working, but you can purchase disability insurance to mitigate that risk. In other words, you can’t stop bad things from happening, but you can anticipate many problems and prepare financially for them. And my last tip, number 13, get professional help. One of the fastest ways to have more financial success is to work with a financial advisor or a retirement planner. They provide various services, but are typically used to create a detailed plan for longterm goals, such as saving for retirement or even a child’s education and advisor may help you see options and solutions to any financial challenges you’re facing. I have always used various financial pros for advice and guidance and recommend you do the same. Yes, they cost a little money, but in the long run, they’re going to save you money and really set you up for a secure financial future.

It’s hard to believe that we’re in the second half of 2021. If you made a resolution at the beginning of the year to get out of debt, I really want to help you believe it or not. It’s not too late to get on a better path and reach your financial goals. A great way to jumpstart success is my bestselling online class called get out of debt fast, a proven plan to stay debt free forever. I would love for you to take control of your finances by joining this super affordable class, you’ll come away with a clear debt reduction plan to eliminate credit cards, student loans, medical bills, mortgages, or any debt you owe. Even if you don’t have extra money to pay them off faster. And if you’re struggling to build credit, you want to check out another online class I created called build better credit.

The ultimate credit score repair guide. It gives you the best 2021 strategies to raise your credit scores, cut costs and have the safety net you deserve to get different results and more success. Sometimes it means taking different actions. So I would encourage you to check out these courses to learn more just text debt course, all one word with no space or credit course with no space to the number 3, 3, 4, 4, 4. And I’ll send you an email with a discount code that you can’t afford to miss. That’s all for now. I’ll talk to you next week until then here’s to living a richer life. Money girl is produced by the audio wizard, Steve or Ricky Berg

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