The start of a new year is the perfect opportunity to hit reset and take control of your finances. While many people wait for January to make resolutions, there’s no better time than now to embrace habits that can shape your financial future.
Building effective money management practices, such as budgeting, saving, and smart spending, can lead to a more secure and stress-free year.
In this post, we’ll explore ten actionable financial habits to adopt, ensuring your year is not only prosperous but also filled with peace of mind when it comes to your financial health.
1. Start keeping track of your income and expenses
To avoid spending all your money on New Year’s tinsel or gingerbread lattes, start monitoring your expenses and income.
This can be done using financial planning services , a simple Excel spreadsheet, or a notebook.
Keeping track of your expenses and income will help you understand where your money is going, what expenses could be avoided, and how much of your salary you could put aside for a major purchase .
And no matter what chaos reigns in your finances, it is never too late to fix the situation.
2. Learn to say no to mindless spending
At least once a year, we all fall for “super-advantageous offers” and spend money on something that will not actually bring any benefit or joy. But there are several techniques that will help you resist the tricks of marketers:
- Read the price tags carefully. Often they write the price of the product per 100 g, although it may weigh more. Or they attach red tags to the price tag, and the buyer, out of habit, thinks that this is a discount.
- Be realistic about marketing promotions. Sales and promotions are often a way to get you to buy something at a discount that you don’t need at all. The “two for the price of one” tag certainly pleases the inner miser, but perhaps you don’t need the item even at half price .
- Don’t take too much. In large supermarkets, popular departments are located so that you move around the halls as long as possible. Marketers expect that while you get, for example, from the dairy department to the meat department, you will simultaneously pick up goods that you did not plan to buy. Put in the basket only what you need. To do this, it is worth making a shopping list in advance and strictly following it.
- Take a break. Motoko Hani, who came up with the Japanese family budgeting system Kakebo, is sure that you shouldn’t rush to the checkout with something you like. It’s better to put off the purchase for a few hours, days, or even weeks. And after the allotted time, ask yourself again: do you really need this thing?
3. Follow a financial plan
Are you dreaming of finally saving up for a car or a down payment on a mortgage in the new year ? Without a well-thought-out financial plan, this is much more difficult to do: every now and then, you will be tempted to spend money on trifles – and, as a result, you will lose your financial course .
To begin, make a list of your main goals for the year. For example: buy an exercise bike, make a long-awaited renovation, and buy a car. Immediately indicate the amounts you will need to realize these desires.
Then assess your capabilities: what are your income and expenses, how much can you save per month. Think about whether you will be able to save for all your dreams at once or whether you should prioritize. You may have to cross something off the list: you won’t be able to survive another year without repairs, and buying an exercise bike can wait.
4. Create a financial safety net
In the new year, you want to believe only in the best, but no one is immune from unpleasant surprises. To prevent a sudden layoff or other force majeure from throwing you off track, start creating a financial safety cushion that will be equal to several of your salaries.
To do this, try to put aside part of your salary every month – for example, 15%.
It is better to put this emergency reserve on deposit in a bank . Interest will be accrued on your savings, and you will be able to compensate for losses from inflation.
In addition, money in deposits is insured by the state .
5. Handle debts carefully
Of course, you wouldn’t want to celebrate the New Year with debts. But it’s not always possible. If you can’t pay off your loans, you can at least try to review their terms. For example, combine all your loans into one and refinance it .
If you are just planning to take out a loan or credit, first evaluate whether you really need this money right now and how you will repay it . You should not take on obligations if you are not sure that you will be able to pay off your creditors on time.
It may happen that you will be asked to lend money. It is not always convenient to refuse an old friend. But it is better to soberly assess the situation. It is not for nothing that banks carefully study the credit history of clients before issuing them a loan. Lend only the amount that you are ready to lose. Or get a guarantee that the money will be returned to you – for example, take a receipt.
6. Read the contracts carefully
Some books, such as Harry Potter, many are ready to reread over and over again. But at least once carefully reading a boring and complicated contract on which the fate of one’s own money depends seems an impossible task. And how can you not trust a smiling manager who hands you a stack of papers to sign?
In the end, it may turn out like in the joke: “David Beckham was signing autographs and accidentally signed a contract with Yaroslavl’s Shinnik.” But in life, there are some very serious stories:
By saving 20 minutes on studying the terms of the contract, you will likely spend much more time and money trying to resolve the unpleasant consequences.
For example, your money may not end up on deposit in a bank, but with an insurance company or a trust manager, who do not guarantee either income or the safety of savings. What to do if you are persistently persuaded to invest in a product other than the one you came for, read in the text ” What services can a bank impose instead of a deposit “.
Before you sign the contract , make sure that all the points in it are clear to you, the terms are transparent, the wording is precise. And don’t forget to take a second copy.
7. Start earning passive income
Imagine that in the new year you will not have to work overtime to earn extra income. There are several ways to turn this pleasant thought into reality.
The easiest option is a bank deposit . But if you already have a financial safety net for a rainy day, you can try investing part of your savings (but no more than 30%) in something more profitable .
Let’s say, a mutual fund . This is a good option to start with: you don’t have to become an investment expert – your money will be managed by professionals.
If you are ready to monitor the stock market situation yourself, you can buy shares or bonds .
But do not forget that, unlike bank deposits, investments in securities are not insured by the state.
8. Protect yourself from risks
It is unlikely that anyone will be happy if their apartment is flooded by their neighbors in the new year. But you can smooth over the unpleasant emotions if the insurance company pays for the repairs.
Natural disasters, illnesses, accidents, meteorite falls – all these troubles are difficult to predict. But insurance will help cover losses and mitigate the consequences.
You can insure anything: football players insure their legs, singers insure their voice, and you can take care of the safety of your own health, apartment and car.
9. Take advantage of the tax deduction
If you use the services of private clinics, your children attend paid clubs or you bought an apartment, then you have the opportunity to receive a tax deduction . It allows you to reduce the amount of personal income tax (PIT) that you pay to the state, or return previously paid tax.
But there are conditions: to receive a deduction, you must be a citizen of the Russian Federation and have an official income on which you pay personal income tax.
For example, you bought an apartment for 3 million rubles. According to the law, you are allowed to return 13% of its price – 390,000 rubles. But in one year you will be able to get no more than the amount of personal income tax that you paid for this year. With a monthly salary of, say, 50,000 rubles, personal income tax for the year will be 78,000 rubles (50,000 ₽ x 12 months x 13%) and the maximum return for this year will be the same. The remaining 312,000 rubles can be returned in the following years.
You can get a tax deduction for charity and even for investments in securities if you make them through an individual investment account.
10. Learn the tricks of scammers
On New Year’s Eve and during the holidays, social engineers who fraudulently gain access to people’s savings are even more active in attacking their victims. Criminals gain your trust and trick you into giving them confidential data: full card details, including three digits from the back, passwords and codes from bank notifications. They need this information to steal money from your account.
Social engineers use various psychological tricks to make you give them this data yourself or enter it on a phishing site . And if you give in to the scammers and give them secret information or transfer money yourself, you will not be reimbursed for these losses .
There are several signs by which you can quickly recognize a cyber fraudster. They contact you themselves (for example, they call on behalf of the bank’s security service), talk to you about money (demand that you urgently transfer it to a secure account, pay a “commission”), ask you to provide confidential card details or codes from notifications from the bank. At the same time, they unbalance you – they intimidate you or, on the contrary, try to please you (saying, for example, that “you won a prize in the lottery”), and also put moral pressure – they rush and force you to comply with their demands.
For more information on how to resist fraudsters, read the text “ How to quickly recognize a fraudster .”
Stories of people who encountered scammers and advice on how to behave better in similar situations can be found in the ” Rakes ” section. Perhaps someone else’s experience will help you avoid stepping on the same rake in the new year!
