Personal Finance 101: How do I get started?

I want to make personal finance exciting and motivating for you! It should be about building your dream life and using money as a tool to do this. Here are a few pointers on how to get started:

1. What do you value in your life and what do you actually want to spend your money on? If you start here you can ensure that your money is really going to living your best life

2. Calculate how much money you have coming in per month. Do this by looking at your paycheque and anything else you’ve got coming into your account. If it varies per month then just take an average for now

3. Look at your expenses: firstly, are they less than your income? Secondly, how do you feel about these purchases? Are they in alignment with what you value and then make a quick note of the spending you’re happy with or not happy with

4. Savings/investments: can you budget a portion of your income to go towards your savings and/or investments? If you have some money left at the end of the month then it is a great idea to transfer this into your savings or investments or towards your debt. But ideally you want to be saving a set proportion of your income every month before you make any purchases.

5. Automate! set up a scheduled payment or standing order to your savings / investment account on payday so you can’t unintentionally spend this money. Start with an emergency fund that can cover three to six months of expenses, and then build up other savings accounts for your short-term and long-term goals e.g. holiday, gift shopping, buying a house etc

6. Invest your money - this is key to growing your wealth and achieving those long-term goals (here is a post dedicated to this topic).

You have control of your finances and hold the power to achieve your financial and life goals. Make sure to regularly review and adjust your financial plans to stay on track and make progress towards the future YOU want.