3 Financial Goals Anyone Can Keep for 2018

Happy New Year! The start of a new year signals the rush of new faces to the gym, more people elbowing you in the organic aisle in the grocery store and new lofty savings goals. We all know we can be very ambitious with these goals, sometimes too ambitious and it leads to burn out and the feeling of “I’ll start next year”. Here are 3 financial goals anyone can keep this year –

1. Put 1/2 your yearly raise (or 1 more percent) into your retirement account

This one is one of the oldest tricks in the book. Most employers give a yearly raise due to an increase in the cost of living, and many give more as part of a performance review. If you put 1/2 of that increase into your retirement account, you’ll still feel like you got a small raise, and be contributing more than ever to your retirement. If your employer isn’t giving annual raises, I encourage you to still increase your contribution by 1%. You’ll hardly notice the difference, and it’ll be worth if after a few decades of compounding interest.

2. Review your subscriptions

We all have monthly subscriptions – Netflix, apple storage, HBOGo. Once a year, reviewing exactly what you pay for each one will help you identify any ones you really don’t use. Often during the year, these services increase their price just a tiny amount. You might’ve thought Netflix was worth $10 in 2017 but after thinking about the 3 times you used it in the last year and the $1 increase, you realize it’s not worth $132 a year.

I know for me, this is one I have to be selfish about. I have been paying for the two screens subscription of Netflix. Why? I have no idea, I guess I’m too nice. I worry that my ex’s mom’s best friend from 2014 is still using my account for workouts and their use might be interrupted. Sorry! I need to be selfish and move down to the one screen plan, saving me $36.

3. Find one category in your budget to question

This is the only goal on this list that really requires constant attention. Just like ambitious diet goals, budgeting goals are easier kept smaller, and more targeted. Targeting one category to question your spending is easy. For me it’s my “bars and entertainment” category. To me questioning this means asking myself at the bar if I really want a second drink or if I’m only ordering a second $15 margarita because someone else is and it’s easy to say “yes”. Living in a big city as a young twenty-something means boutique bars are part of the social scene. It’d be very difficult and frankly miserable to drastically cut this category. Instead, I plan on just questioning my spending in this category and being more mindful of by “bar and entertainment” spending.

If you don’t have a budget, check out these budgeting articles, so you can keep meeting your financial goals in 2018!