A house usually reflects a physical building – full of structure, foundation and extra fixtures to make it suitable for its function. If you think about it, it showcases various concepts such as security, comfort or a place to call home. Have you ever inspected the complete ‘product’ or ‘building’ (structure) of your finances? Yes, you heard right. Your financial house – what about the fiscal foundation, walls and add-ons you need in order to structure a crucial part of your life? What does your fiscal house look like currently – “it is fine, but needs a bit of a revamp,” or is it in complete ruins because of your neglect?
Spring is the perfect season to start rebuilding your financials from scratch and getting all your financial walls, windows and relevant frameworks in the best place possible. And although you cannot snap your fingers to have the most envied financial position within minutes, you now have the chance renewing your financial house to secure a financially-free future for yourself. Here’s how:
Picture and plan
A financial plan or blueprint is the vision that you have for your finances. It should be inked on paper (or added to digital format – perfect for all the techno gurus). The outline of your financial plan should be easy to understand and compatible with the financial goals that you want to achieve. For example: list your different goals in point format and add a time-frame or date to each goal. Your short-term goals will typically indicate a month to a year, medium-term goals reflect between a year to five years, and long-term goals will specify five to twenty plus years. By including your goals to your vision and overall financial outlook – you’ll see the bigger picture of what you have to accomplish to achieve financial freedom.
Manage your money
There is no better way to incorporate your financial plan or goal than by laying the foundation thereof. This is possible through budgeting methods aka practical ‘financial arrangements’. Budgeting methods differ from:
· paying your savings account first,
· dividing your spending into needs and savings or (for now) debt reduction,
· to using cash only when paying for groceries and services.
The trick to managing your money is to find what works for you. In the end, experts say, you’ll lay the perfect foundation when you spend less than what you earn. Remember your financial house can only be as strong as the foundation you lay.
Add additional safety structures
A house can only provide the necessary safety if you add walls for structure and windows for security. Financial walls will typically add strength to your financial position. An example is an emergency fund. You’ve probably heard it a million times, but do you have an additional savings fund tucked away for those rainy days? Other additional security windows you can add to your financial house are annuities, life insurance, disability and retrenchment cover. Economic times are uncertain and if you can take precaution today to avoid devastation tomorrow, don’t delay. You won’t regret it.
Delete your debt
The rooftop is one of the most important features to a secured financial house and future. The final touch of your structure refers to what you have left to do to be financially independent. You have the vision, plan, foundation, walls, windows and add-ons in place, yet, you cannot complete the whole picture because you still have a mountain of debt. What do you do now? There are various channels you can use and professionals you can contact to secure your financial position. Give yourself a daily time slot to visit financial blogs, web pages, social media pages and ask recommendations from those whom you trust. Zeeva is such a platform – specially designed for women. Send a free SMS with your name and “ZEEVA” to 30967. Get your debt out of the way and add only secured roof planks to complete your financial house.
It is time to hit home to an improved financial house. By taking the above tips into account, you can rebuild your financial home starting this spring.
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