If you're anything like me, at this time of year you'll be starting to think about setting some new goals for the new year. I would always create some sort of new year's resolution like 'drink more water' or 'read more books' and then forget about them within the first few weeks. At the end of 2017, I set myself goals for 2018. This was the first year I successfully achieved these goals and I'd like to share with you how I planned them out effectively so I could achieve them. Hopefully these tips will be useful for you too! 1. Think about what you want This is the most simple and most fun part! Simply think about the things that you want to achieve. What is missing from your life? What would you like to do more of? What would you like to have more of? In what areas would you like to improve? Think about where you would like to be in five or ten years time, and what steps you would need to take to get there. You can be as creative as you like with
1. Record everything you spend. Recording what you’ve spent in a spending diary is a really useful way of keeping track of your finances. You can either create one for yourself in a notebook or on a spreadsheet, but you can also pick these up for very little cost. (Mine was £2.50 from Wilko and it’s great!) At the end of each day, I write down how much money I spent and what on. This allows you to keep a running total of how much you are spending throughout the month, and I find it also helps me to spend less as I know I will have to be accountable for it and write it down later! I colour code each item into different categories that work for me: Food & drink Items for other people Items for myself Travel There is also a section at the top of each month to record my fixed spending, so all my bills go in that section. At the end of the month you can work out how much money you have saved or overspent, and you can also easily see