5 Ways To Turn Up Your Finances in 2022

Congratulations you made it another year.

With how 2021 was that’s no small accomplishment.

We all know it’s a tradition for people to set goals they want to achieve.

Here are a few of mine I’ll be keeping you updated on with this email.

The start of a new year is also a great time to begin taking your finances seriously.

Thankfully there are a number of ways you can level up your money skills, and no it doesn’t involve giving up Starbucks everyday.

In this email I’m going to cover 5 ways you can take control of your dollars in 2022 so that in 2023 you can buy all the $5 triple shot mocha cappuccinos you want.

Let’s get into it.

(don’t forget to check out the best memes at the end)

Note: If this email is appearing in your spam you can fix that by dragging it to your main inbox.

“It's not how much money you make, but how much money you keep, how hard it works for you, and how many generations you keep it for.” - Robert Kiyosaki

1) Track Your Expenses

In order to improve anything you have to have a point that you can improve upon. To do this track your expenses for 3-6 months.

I guarantee by doing this you will find areas you are overspending. For me it was eating out. From this discovery I was able to start meal prepping and save myself around $100/month.

What’s the easiest way to do this?

If you are old school you can use pen and paper.

But it’s the 21st century, we have self driving cars and are sending people to space for fun.

That said, my recommendation would be to use an online app/website. These are great as you can link your credit/debit cards to automatically track your spending.

For the times you spend cash simply open the app, and enter how much dough you dropped.

My favorites: Personal Capital (aff), EveryDollar, Mint

2) Have A Budget

Now you know where your money is going.

You realized your pet goldfish doesn’t need the premium brand fish food from PetSmart.

The next step is to create a budget. Based on your income and spending data determine how much you want to spend in each category every month.

Enter everything, bills, savings, insurance, groceries, investments, eating out, memberships, etc.

Using your expenses tracker mentioned previously, do your best to stick to this budget.

The previously mentioned apps, Every Dollar and Mint, offer built in budget trackers as well. Another popular option for the computer wizards out there is to use excel and simply enter in your spending at the end of each month.

Following a budget is one of the most effective ways to improve your finances.

3) Save An Emergency Fund

I’ll keep this section short, but don’t discount it’s importance.

From you expenses determine an amount that would cover 3-6 months of your living expenses. (more if you want to reduce risk)

Get this saved up in a separate account as fast as possible.

This is what I like to call your “oh s**t” money.

It serves as, you guessed it, and emergency fund to keep you from digging in your investments or having to take out debt.

4) Start Investing

You knew this one was coming.

Within your budget set aside a certain amount to invest each month. Start off shooting for 10% of your income and then increase from there.

(I know some people investing over 50%)

My quick start guide to investing.

1. Open a Brokerage: My favorites are Fidelity and M1 Finance

2. Find a good ETF: $VTI $VYM $VXUS $VNQ

3. Setup automatic contributions.

5) Raise Your Income

Last, but definitely not least is to raise your income.

This one is really up to you on how you want to go about it.

For some it might be working a little harder at work to get that promotion, while for others it might be doing some handy man jobs on the weekend.

Having a little side hustle like this is fun.

I’ll be honest, Twitter and this email are two ways I supplement my income!

Conclusion

Following these 5 steps will allow you to take your finances by the reins in 2022.

Now while I can’t promise you’ll be living like the Wolf Of Wall Street next year, you will see your relationship with money improve.

Thanks for reading and Happy New Year my friend. Wishing the next 365 days treats you and your family well.

(keep scrolling for the best memes)

Number 4 on this list was to start investing.

If you are stuck on how to start, or want to help out one of your friends consider picking up my guide on investing with ETFs.

It’s one of the easiest and most effective ways to invest in the stock market.

Resources:

M1 Finance - Open an account and get $50 free when you make a deposit of $100 or more.

Simply Invest With ETFs - Learn the in’s and out’s of ETFs and why they are the simplest and most effective way to invest.

Turbocharge Your Dividends - Generate extra income by selling covered calls on your stocks and ETFs.

Tweet Hunter - Automate your Twitter and build an account that will pay you $100 a week.

Personal Capital - Track all of your investments in one place.

Thanks for reading, if you have any questions, comments, suggestions, etc. about the email send me a DM on twitter. See you soon!