We have officially stepped into 2024, and I am certainly looking forward to seeing what this year has to offer! Now, a new year often comes with the classic ‘new year, new me’ motto, as well as a set of glossy new goals. If you are looking to get your finances back on track after an expensive December, then you’re in the right place. Here’s how to set your financial goals for 2024!
Before you can set your 2024 financial goals, you need to assess your current financial situation.
Questions to ask yourself include:
These questions won’t necessarily give you the whole picture of your financial situation, but they will hopefully put you on the right track and help you think of other things to consider.
Once you know where you’re currently at financially, you can set your 2024 budget.
To do this, you need to establish your total income each month (this can include money from your main job and any side hustle earnings you might earn) and your total fixed outgoings, think rent/mortgage, bills, travel and savings and/or investments. You should also include your variable costs, like food and entertainment.
After you’ve worked out your income and expenses, you can take your expenses away from your income and see if you have money left over or if you have spent too much.
If the latter is true, you’ll need to adjust your variable expenses, for example, you might have to spend less on going out. It may also be worth considering your fixed expenses. Can you find cheaper rent elsewhere perhaps?
More positively, if you have more money left over, you can look to increase your savings or investments.
Now you’re in a position to set your financial goals. However, it can be hard to know what these are.
To give you some inspiration, here are some common financial goals:
It’s also important to remember your financial goals don’t have to be ‘big’.
With the current cost of living crisis, a lot of people are struggling financially. You don’t need to be buying a property or paying off thousands of pounds of debt to have a good year.
Your financial goals can be as simple as being able to pay all your bills in full each month or having money left over to treat yourself each month.
Before you set your 2024 financial goals, it can be helpful to consider your longer-term ambitions. This way you can ensure your aims for the next 12 months will help you reach them.
For example, if you want to buy a house in the next five years, saving £10,000 to spend on traveling the world in the next year may not be the best move.
However, if traveling is your priority and you want to work more flexibly, maybe buying a home this year is not the best aim.
Whatever your 2024 financial goals, All Things Money is here to support you on your money journey. Sign up to our mailing list to keep up to date with all our latest tips, events and podcasts.
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