TORONTO -- OK, here鈥檚 my true confession: I am the type of person who makes New Year's resolutions. I love new beginnings, new challenges and fresh starts and given all that 2020 has thrown our way, I say, bring on 2021, I'm ready for you.
I always have good financial intentions but that doesn't always mean they translate into action and as we have seen this past year the unexpected can happen and throw you off course. But that doesn't mean I give up.
My monthly resolutions are the same every year and the beauty of them is that you can tailor them to your financial situation.
Here we go:
January 鈥� Commit to taking control of your financial situation. Set financial goals that matter to you. Get excited about saving money.
February 鈥� Pay down debt. The holiday bills are rolling in and the debt is piling up. Pay off the most expensive debt first, the one with the highest interest rate. Put away the credit cards and begin the financial detox process.
March - Explore insurance options, estate planning and some may want begin exploring developing an investment strategy.
April 鈥� The tax deadline is right around the corner and while it is a little late in the year to get strategic about this, take the time to ensure you are getting the biggest bang for your tax buck. Explore all options and deductions that you may be entitled as a result of working from home. And set yourself up for success next year.
May 鈥� Spend less and save more. Enough said here.
June 鈥� Become an automatic millionaire. Okay, there is nothing automatic about becoming a millionaire, but you can pay yourself first by having money come directly out of your account and applying it towards debt or into an investment strategy to increase the odds of becoming one.
July - Review your investment portfolio to ensure you haven't taken on too much risk and your portfolio it is still aligned to who you are as an investor. For example, you may have too much exposure to stocks. You may want to pare that back and buy into areas that haven't performed as well. This is how you buy low and sell high. Stick to your asset allocation - in other words the per cent of your portfolio in cash, stocks and bonds should remain constant.
August 鈥� Get insured. Not everyone needs insurance but everyone needs to ask the question, 鈥渨hat would happen to my family if something were to happen to me?鈥� How you answer that question will dictate the type of insurance you should explore.
September 鈥� Create a will. No one likes to think about their demise but sadly things happen when you least expect it. My father passed away at 36 of a heart attack. He had a plan in place and while it clearly didn鈥檛 replace him, getting through the financial elements was easier than it would have been without the will.
October 鈥� Amp up your earning potential if that is important to you. What will it take to push your career to the next level? No one wants to be unbelievably average at what they do.
November 鈥� Be mindful of holiday spending.
December 鈥� Review, reflect, revise. Repeat.
2020 was a challenging year on so many fronts and so many elements were out of our control. 2021 is the year we take back our financial control, one month at a time.
You might not believe in New Year鈥檚 resolutions, so you might prefer to refer to this as an action plan. The only thing I know for sure is if we don鈥檛 try to make some changes, there is a 100 per cent chance we will be starting all over again from the same spot in 2022.
