After Halloween, it seems like the days go by so much faster than before. Blink and it’s Christmas. At times, it can seem like your bank account diminishes that quickly too during the holiday season. But it doesn’t need to be that way. It can be easy to be swept up in the season, but that doesn’t mean your financial plan should melt away like a snowman on a July day. Instead, it’s a great time to reevaluate your financial wealth and plan for the next year.
There are simple ways to help save money in the long run: adjusting your thermostat, light timers, not putting too much on credit cards, etc. Other tips include setting a budget for your holiday spending, but this should be followed year-round. Instead of a budget though, I like to call it a financial plan. Know what you have to spend and what you need to save to ensure you’re setting yourself up for the life you want to live now and in the future.
If you want to get ahead of your finances this season and into 2018, I recommend trying these three things. First, examine your consistent expenditures. Are you paying too much for health insurance? Do you still have that wine subscription that you don’t need? What may seem like a small expense each month can quickly add up to a large sum over the course of a year.
The second tip is to re-evaluate your tax situation. I use the Tax Saving Savings Effect to ensure that I’m compounding interest in the best way to maximize my gains. You don’t want to have to work harder just to pay more in taxes. Here’s a longer explanation of the model. (insert link to previous blog post)
The third tip is to not pay off your debts. It might seem like a good idea to go into 2018 debt free, but it could affect your cash flow and that could have ramifications on the rest of your spending. Debt isn’t always bad. Sometimes it’s better to have a mortgage if that means that you have more cash flow to invest, which can bring in more money and equity than owning a house outright.
For more tips about not wasting your wealth during the holidays, visit tswealth.com.
