5 Money Resolutions You Should Set for 2022

Hey everyone and happy new year. My name is Laura Adams and I’m a personal finance and small business expert. Who’s been hosting the money girl podcast since 2008. I’m also the author of several books, including my most recent title, which was an Amazon number one new release called money, smart solopreneur, a personal finance system for freelancers entrepreneurs and side hustlers. I hope you had a fantastic and refreshing holiday with some time to reflect on 2021 and what you wanna accomplish in 2022. I know I did. And, and it’s something I always enjoy. I tend to maybe look forward a bit more than I look back. Um, so I don’t do a whole lot of year end reviews. I tend to think more about what I wanna accomplish in the next year. And if you’re listening to this show, the day it drops on January 5th, you’ve got 360 days ahead of you to make some great things happen in your financial life in 2022.

And I’ve been hearing from many new listeners. So if you’re just finding the show welcome, I am thrilled to have you in this community. And if you’ve been with me for years, I’m so grateful that you have, I’m grateful that you’re here. I really, really appreciate you. My mission for money girl is to help you get the knowledge and motivation to prioritize your finances, build wealth, and have more security and less stress. Every show is created just for you. It’s to make sure that you’ve got some practical advice and tips that you can take away to help make better money decisions, and hopefully take your financial life to the next level. I would love for you to subscribe to the show and participate by sending me your money, questions, or comments. You can leave a message 24 7, we’ve got a voicemail line set up just for you.

The number is 3 0 2 3 6 4 0 3 0 8. And you can always email me using my [email protected] or connect with me on Instagram at Laura D. Adams. And if you listen to the show and you wanna review it, or you’re interested in some of the resources that I mentioned, you can always find them. We publish a companion blog post for every show it’s on the money girl [email protected]. Today’s episode is number 714 called five money resolutions. You should set for 2022. If you’re like me, you might feel differently about setting resolutions from year to year. You know, sometimes I get really inspired and easily changed my behavior or have bits, but other times it just doesn’t happen. You know? And so if you’re someone who has not set any money resolutions yet, or you want to be sure that you set better financial goals, this show is for you. I find that sometimes not setting goals, isn’t so much about not being motivated or not wanting change for your life in a lot of cases, it can be that you’re just not sure what your goals should be while everyone’s financial situation is different.

Everyone should reach specific, fundamental financial goals. And that’s what we’re gonna cover today. You may have many additional goals in addition to what we cover here, but this podcast will cover tips for how to take stock of your financial life, how to know what you want to achieve and how to bridge the gap between the two you’ll come away with tools to track your financial progress. Stay focused on a critical money, objective, eliminate debt, and set more resolutions to boost your financial wellbeing in 2022. So let’s get right into it. Resolution. Number one that you should set is know your net worth. Knowing your net worth is actually something that you should establish before you start setting your money. Resolutions. It’s so critical because it helps you figure out what you should aim for. So that should really be your first step, because it’s going to reveal a lot about your overall financial health and figuring your net worth is kind of like stepping on the scale before setting a goal to lose weight.

If you don’t have some starting point or metric, it’s very difficult to know if or when you’re making progress, or if you finally hit your goal. I created a document to calculate and track my net worth called a personal financial statement or PPFs. And it’s a little different from a basic net worth statement, because it includes additional information that you should keep up with and you can create your PFS on paper, a word document, or a Google spreadsheet. But if you’d like a copy of mine, you can download it for free. When you sign up for my email [email protected], you’re just gonna automatically get it. When you sign up and creating your PFS, isn’t difficult, but it does take a little time to gather and record your information. But you know, once you’ve got it in there, it it’s pretty easy to maintain it. And if you use my template, you’ll find a tab for listing your assets.

First. These are the things that you own that have value, maybe real estate cars, jewelry, household furnishings, sporting goods, cash in the bank, taxable investments and retirement accounts. You wanna do the best you can to assign accurate market values to your assets. And if you’ve got, you know, a lot of smaller priced things, you can lump them together. Under categories, maybe like furnishings. You probably got lots of household household furnishings that you don’t wanna price individually, but when you kind of give an estimate and you lump it all together, you know, you’ll have a total for furnishings, but I do want you to be as precise as possible for your expensive assets. So you could use a site like zillow.com for pricing your real estate, as closely as possible. Maybe you go to kbb.com, it’s Kelly blue book.com for values on vehicles and ebay.com for sporting goods or any other site that you know, you, you are familiar with where you can get up to date values.

Once you have your assets accounted for, you’re gonna add up the total that will automatically happen for you when you use my PFS template. Also consider if each of your high dollar assets is adequately insured. I include a section on my PFS. That’s just for insurance policies, including home auto life, disability and personal liability. You wanna include your insurer’s name, the policy number and the amount of coverage you have remember that as your net worth increases. So should your insurance protections. Now below your assets, you’re gonna wanna list out your live abilities. These are the things you owe, like mortgages, car loans, student loans, personal loans, credit cards, and any balances on lines of credit. And there’s a separate tab for liabilities on my PFS that will automatically give you a total and automatically subtract it from your total assets. The resulting number, whether it’s positive or negative is your net worth.

So why is doing this PFS exercise so crucial for setting money goals each year? Well, if your net worth does not increase from year to year, you’re not getting any wealthier. You know, your health is not really increasing when it’s comes to your financial life. Your financial wellbeing is actually declining. If your net worth is flat, that’s due to inflation. And it’s definitely declining. If your net worth is lower this year than it was last year, having a higher net worth than last year means you’ve increased your assets, your debts, or hopefully both even going from a negative net worth to a meager net worth shows, you’re making progress. So I want you to take the time to download my PFS template right now, by signing up for my email newsletter or creating your own PFS and using it as a financial benchmark going forward.

Resolution number two that everyone should have is set your one money objective. Have you ever heard about setting a word or even a theme for a given year to keep you focused on what you want to achieve? It’s also an excellent idea for your finances. So you set like an overarching for financial objective. I call it my one money objective or O M O. And I recommend that you set one too while you’ve probably got many things that you wanna accomplish financially, having an om O forces you to boil down your priorities into a single word, or maybe a brief phrase. One way to identify your Omo is to consider the 80 20 rule also known as the parade principle. It says that there’s an unequal relationship between inputs and outputs, so that roughly 80% of effects come from 20% of causes came up with this, uh, as an Italian economist, because he found that approximately 80% of the land in Italy in the late 18 hundreds was owned by 20% of the population.

He also observed that 20% of the PPOs in his garden contained 80% of the peas and many businesses find the same rule. They find that 80% of their profit comes from 20% of customers. And 80% of sales are achieved by 20% of the sales force. You get the idea. So the 80 20 rule reveals that massive improvements can be made when you know, what’s responsible for most of your results. So when you identify the most potent inputs in your work or financial life, you can have much more success with way less effort. So I wanna challenge you to find your 20% input and turn that into your one money. Objective, your Omo could stay constant for your entire life, or it could be a word of the year that captures your current aspiration. And then it gets reevaluated the following year. So identify what’s essential to make dramatic improvements with your finances and double down on it.

You may have to spend some time pondering what financial activity or concept gets the results that you want more than anything else. So as you create your PFS, it will probably be clear that you really need to save more, eliminate high interest debt or protect your wealth with more insurance. And I promise that seeing your net worth and your entire finance your life in one spreadsheet is gonna motivate you. And it will probably be really easy to come up with your one money objective. For some people, their Omo might be retirement. Just that one word or self-employment. If that’s something you’re shooting for, it could be financial freedom family or anything that will dramatically your financial dreams and make sure that you’re going to get that 80% result that you’re looking for. So what’s most important to you. Maybe it’s starting a charitable foundation or not owing money to anyone there isn’t a right or wrong answer here.

Another way to narrow down your one money objective is, is by considering what’s causing you any financial stress right now, if your finances don’t support your values, you probably know that you need to make some significant changes and that can feel really scary or cause a lot of anxiety. So consider the 20% input to relieve 80% of your money, stress. Maybe it’s changing careers, adding an income stream, or even downsizing your home. Successful people, not only know what they need to do, but they do it right? So once you identify your one money of J active don’t make excuses or procrastinate, I want you to build habits that ensure you can reach your Omo and use it as a guide when you’re not sure what to do. For instance, if you’re wondering, if you should raid your 401k to pay off credit cards, ask yourself if it would support or defeat your, if you’re considering starting a side business or going back to school, consider if it moves you closer to or farther away from your critical financial objective, one tip for staying motivated is creating visible triggers.

That will remind you what you want to accomplish. You might place strategic key use in your home, your car, your workplace that will routinely get your attention and ultimately foster good habits. For instance, you could write your one money objective on an index card that stays in your wallet. You might jot it down on a sticky note and put it on your credit cards on a bathroom mirror, hard dashboard, and your computer monitor at work. Another strategy is to write a journal entry every morning about why your one money objective is so essential to you include what you’re gonna do today to accomplish it and what it ultimately means for you and your family’s future.

All right, resolution number three, that everyone should have strengthen your safety nets. You know, that life is full of financial surprises and very costly emergencies. So another critical resolution that everyone should set in 2022 is evaluating and boosting your emergency fund. Your emergency fund is cash that you’re gonna keep safe and completely liquid in an F D I C insured savings account. Having a cash cushion to fall back on will definitely help reduce stress. It’s gonna help you navigate financial hardships with ease and avoid going into debt in the first place you wanna commit to regularly putting away set amount. It could be a hundred dollars a month or $50 a week. Even a small emergency fund is better than nothing, and it can definitely be your most valuable safety net. One tip for making saving easier is automating your emergency savings with a separate direct deposit that will put a amount or even a percentage of your paycheck in the bank.

So ask your employer to set this up. Just like you’ve got a direct deposit into your checking account. You can also have them send a direct deposit to your savings account. And if you’re self-employed, you can create this on your own by setting up a recurring transfer that moves money from your checking into a savings account on a monthly or weekly basis. And if money is tight and you’re feeling like, you know, you’re not going to be able to set up some recurring savings, try working overtime, getting a second job or even starting business on the side so that you’ve got more to save. It doesn’t have to be forever. Remember that if you have to make some sacrifices in 2022, they can be temporary, right? It just has to be until you reach a particular goal like accumulating a thousand dollars or $5,000 in your emergency fund, ultimately building cash cushion equal to three to six months of your living expenses is one of the best money resolutions that you can have.

And I know that is an aggressive goal for you, but you just have to start somewhere. So pick a small number, whether that’s accumulating $500 by the end of the year, 1,005 thousand, 10,000, whatever is the right number for you that really pushes you, but is realistic is a fantastic goal for 2022 resolution. Number four, understand what you’ll need for retirement. It can be really challenging to think about your golden years when you’re like a new graduate or you still feel like a kid, but very few people have the desire or the health to work until their dying day. So investing for retirement is a money resolution for everyone who is still in the workforce, one essential factor and how much you accumulate for retirement. Depends on when you start investing, even if don’t have much to invest. The beautiful thing about investing early in your career is that you lock in your ability to grow rich.

Getting an early start, allows your money to compound and grow exponentially over time. Let me give you an example. Let’s say you invest $250 a month and you get an average annual return of seven for 40 years. In that case, you’re gonna have over $650,000 to spend in retirement. But if you start late and you’ve only got 20 years to invest the same amount of money for the same return, you’re only gonna have $130,000. So don’t delay investing for retirement, a top money resolution. It’s a huge mistake to believe that you can’t afford it, or, you know, I’m just gonna catch up later on. That rarely happens. If you wait for a raise, a new job, a bonus or some cash windfall, you are burning precious time. You’re never too young to begin playing a for your future and investing for retirement. And in fact, the sooner you begin, the cheaper it is, it’s almost like you’re getting your retirement on sale.

And if your employer matches some amount of 401k or 4 0 3 B contributions, always, always, always save enough to get that entire match because it’s free money. Your matching funds may come with a vesting schedule, but even if you leave your job without all your matching funds, it’s money, you didn’t have to work for. Do I need to say anymore a great way to stand what you’ll need for retirement and how much you should be saving is by plugging your information into a retirement planning calculator. One of my favorites is the retirement nest egg calculator. That’s on the a, a R P website. And I’m gonna have a link to that in the notes for the show. Again, they’re in the money girls [email protected]. That calculator is an excellent way to understand the factors that influence your financial future and resolution number five, create a debt elimination plan.

Often not having a debt reduction plan can be a massive source of stress that you need to reverse. So if you’re struggling with debt or maybe you just, you know, you’re not struggling, but you just wanna eliminate your debt as quickly as possible, make it a money resolution in 2022 with a clear plan in place, managing debt becomes a whole lot less overwhelming. I wanna recommend a couple of resources for you. One is my best selling course called get out of debt for fast, a proven plan to stay debt free forever. It’s very, very affordable. And it’s gonna take you through every detailed step of prioritizing your debt, optimizing strategies and eliminating it faster. Even if you don’t have extra money, you’re gonna find a link to [email protected]. Another great debt resource is, is my book called debt free blueprint, how to get out of debt and build a financial life you love it’s available.

Everywhere books are sold and you can get it as a paperback, an ebook or an audio book. Again, very affordable. If you’ve got high interest loans or credit card debt, it can be really difficult to achieve financial because those debts are taking up so much of your income. So don’t accept expensive credit card debt as a way of life, or allow it to Rob you of the ability to save and invest and have a much more secure future. If you’ve got friends or family who spend lavishly or live beyond their means, don’t get caught in of caring about what they think about you or your financial life that can trigger poor spending decisions. And it might be what got you into debt in the first place. If you’re financing a lifestyle that you can’t afford, you want to make some sacrifices in 2022. Again, it doesn’t have to be forever.

You wanna make these sacrifices so you can finally get ahead, make this a line in the sand, make 20, 22, the year that you finally get ahead financially, try waiting a little longer before buying something to decide if you really need it. Try sticking to a reasonable budget and focusing on getting and staying out of debt to build your financial security. And if you’ve got a spouse or a life partner, I would encourage you to consider creating your financial resolutions together. And if you’re single, maybe you wanna get together with a friend or family member to talk about your money resolutions for the coming year. You might discuss your goals over dinner during a walk, or when you’re taking a long drive somewhere. I think it can really help just to verbalize them and, um, you know, kind of flesh them out with somebody else. And if you don’t have someone you feel comfortable talking to, or maybe you want professional guidance, I would encourage you to make an appointment with a fee only certified financial planner or CFP fee only planners don’t get paid for recommending products just for the time that they work on helping you create a realistic financial plan.

An excellent place to find a fee advisor is NA pfa.org. That stands for the national association of personal financial advisors. You might talk to somebody locally or choose from, you know, a list of nationwide advisors. I hope you can use these resolutions to understand your financial health, create safety nets, cut debt, and plan wisely for the future. Here’s to a happy financial new year before we go. I’d love to connect with you on Twitter. My handle there is at Laura Adams, L a U R a a D a M S or on Instagram at Laura D. Adams, Laura D. Adams. That’s all for now. I’ll talk to you next week until then here’s to living a richer life. Money girl is a quick and dirty tips podcast. It’s audio engineered by Steve Ricky bird with editing by Adam Cecil. Our operations and editorial manager is Michelle Marus. Our assistant manager is Emily Miller and our marketing and publicity assistant is Devina Tomlin.