The start of a new year is the perfect time to reflect on your finances, spending habits and money goals. Whether you consider yourself money savvy or needing some TLC, it's never too late to turn over a new leaf and start making positive changes. I've been going over any progress or setbacks I had last year when it comes to my financial situation + what goals I hope to accomplish this year. I've rounded up my top priorities going into this year that I hope will keep me on the right track. Also a quick PSA-- I'm by no means a financial expert nor is this intended to be financial advice. I love chatting about finances + goals-- I think you can learn a lot from others and I find a lot of motivation and accountability for myself there. I hope you'll enjoy reading some of my goals + will also share yours with me!
+ ROTH IRA - One of my first financial priorities every year is always maxing out and contributing to my ROTH IRA retirement account. I know it can be boring or difficult to think about retirement when you're young, however in today's world it's more important than ever. Right now, you can still fund a 2021 ROTH or Traditional IRA account until Tax Day (April 18th, 2022). You can also start making contributions for the 2022 fiscal year. I like to distribute my contributions throughout the year so my main goals right now are to finish up my 2021 contributions + start on 2022 contributions. It's free to open one + is something that I think almost everyone can benefit from! For more info, click here to read Why You Need to Open a ROTH IRA Right Now.
+ NON-RETIREMENT INVESTMENTS - One of my 2021 Money Goals was to open an individual, non-retirement investment account which I did. I've started dabbling with a few stocks in this account, however I'm a total newbie. After I take care of my ROTH IRA contributions this year, I'm hoping to start investing more in this account with more mutual funds or stocks.
+ INCREASE NET WORTH - Last year was the first time that I really took a look at the big picture of my financial situation and started tracking my overall net worth (assets minus liabilities). While I didn't focus too much on the actual number itself, my net worth ended up increasing by more than double by the end of 2021. This was due to a combination of increasing my income, investing, paying off some debt and saving a large portion of what I earned. Because I was able to see a pretty dramatic boost, I decided to make a net worth goal/"milestone" to start working towards. I'm not sure if it can happen in 2022 but we'll see how things go!
+ MAKE MORE MONEY - I was able to bump my income up last year by working a lot of extra hours. It's a grind sometimes but I'm hoping to keep that up going into this year.
+ TREAT MYSELF - This one might seem a little counterintuitive to money + financial goals, however I also want to spend a little bit more of my money on treating me this year. I definitely spend money on myself now (mostly on eating out + food), however one of my 2022 New Year's Resolutions is to take better care of me. That doesn't only mean financially or materialistically, however there are a few things I'd like to splurge on! It can be tricky sometimes to find a balance between spending and saving but like with a lot of things in life, too much of one thing can be a bad thing!
+ TRACK SPENDING - I did a great job last year tracking my spending + using the Budget by Paycheck Workbook until around August/September. After that, it was pretty much balls to the walls throughout the entire holiday season. I quit tracking my spending so it's time for a fresh start in 2022. I like to use both the Every Dollar app + the Budget by Paycheck Workbook. I primarily use them to track where my dollars are going + to see my progress, however they're also great budgeting tools. I purchased the new 2021 release a few months back-- I'll link my unboxing here!
+ READ MONEY BOOKS - Another one of my 2022 resolutions is to read more, including money + finance books. I haven't actually read too many books from this genre so I'm excited to hopefully learn more + gain new perspective. I'm currently reading this book right now-- I'll keep you posted on what I think. Hopefully I stick with the reading resolution + can start sharing book reviews with you again.
What are your money goals for 2022?
I love sharing my goals with you all! Should you click on or make a purchase through the links in this post, I'll earn some money to keep on shopping! Pretty cool, huh? :)
