How to Be The Boss of Your Own Finances
When we think of what it means to be a boss, we often think of leadership or someone who is in charge. Regardless of our occupation or position in life, we can be the boss of our finances.
After years of feeling out of control when it came to my finances, I decided that I did not want to continue on a path of financial insecurity and started setting financial goals that would help stabilize my finances. This allowed me to make progress towards my new financial future. To become the boss of your finances, you do not need to have a degree in finance or any special certifications, just determination and a plan.
Getting on the Right Track
One of the first steps is analyzing your current finances and asking yourself the following questions:
- What are your good money habits?
- Where would you like to be in the next year and what is the first thing you can do to make progress in that direction?
- What must change in order for you to reach your financial goals?
For me the first steps were pulling my credit report and finding a way to bring in more money so that I could eliminate debt and begin saving. Building your savings is an important practice to get on the right track because it can provide you with a safety cushion in the event of future financial needs. Having savings can eliminate the need for creating debt as well as reduce stress during an emergency.
My next step was making things right with previous creditors. Rather than continuing to ignore their contact attempts, I opened lines of communication to discuss my repayment options. While this step won’t always result in the direct improvement of your credit score, it can repair your relationship with past creditors which might be important for establishing new lines of credit in the future. A credit score is a reflection of your financial behaviors as well as your relationship to debt. Having access to credit can make achieving your credit goals less challenging.
Continuing to Make Progress
Maintaining financial momentum is not always easy. I’ve learned that incorporating finance tools such as opens in a new windowChase Credit Journey can help you monitor your credit for free – without impacting your credit score.
Accountability can also play a big role in maintaining your momentum and following through with your plans. Accountability can come from expected or unexpected places such and friends, family, online communities, or local groups you are a part of. opens in a new windowResearch studies have shown that publicly committing your goals to someone gives you at least a 65% chance of completing them and when you have a specific accountability partner your chance of success increases to 95%.
An accountability partner can serve as support when you encounter challenges while working towards your goals and they can also serve as a source of information or peer education. While this should not replace seeking out experts, understanding your learning style and who you learn best from can also have an impact on your progress.
Personal Financial Leadership Traits
Leadership, like everything is a journey. It requires vulnerability, flexibility, resourcefulness, and honesty. Your finances are not much different.
Being vulnerable with your finances might look like reaching out to a professional or someone that you do not know and disclosing your past financial decisions so that they can help you create the best plan for you.
Financial flexibility means understanding that things may happen that require you to pause your financial goals, but that does not mean you should abandon them. At times priorities might need to be reorganized; for example you might have to pause contributions to your retirement account or take a break from working overtime.
Resourcefulness allows you to take advantage of all the tools you have available to you to achieve your financial goals whether that is utilizing services such as My Chase Plan. It gives you the option to pay for your purchases over time with no interest, just a fixed monthly fee, giving you more control and flexibility when needed.
Lastly, honesty is an important trait that can help with your financial progress. To begin and maintain financial progress it requires you to be honest with yourself and take accountability for your decisions. It is much easier to change what you are honest about than what you are not. For example, if you are honest with yourself, you’ll be able to truthfully answer “Can I really afford this right now?”, helping you avoid a potential costly financial mistake.
Reaching your goals can seem intimidating at first, but the longer you work at it the more of a habit it becomes. No matter where you are in your journey towards owning your finances, with the right plan and tools you’ll be able to reach your goals.
