I love getting coffee. I mean, I really love it. Sure I love coffee itself, but there’s something about the action of going into the coffee shop, the whole experience of it that I’m super into. I haven’t dug into why I like it so much, I just know that I do.
Don’t worry, this isn’t a post about how buying coffee will prevent you from becoming a millionaire. I just wanted to let you know it’s something I, a personal finance expert who spends most of his time talking about good financial behavior, does most every day.
Too often, we get caught up focusing on little things and small purchases (coffee), and don’t spend enough time on the bigger and more impactful things.
Being “good” at money can mean a lot of things and certainly means different things to different people. For someone trapped in a generational poverty, it can mean breaking out and achieving financial security by no longer living paycheck to paycheck.
For someone burdened with credit card debt, it can be becoming debt-free. For a high income earner, it can mean learning about an options trading strategy, or getting their arms around Bitcoin.
Wherever you’re at, here are five things anyone and everyone can start doing right now to get better at money.
- Check your credit report. Millions of Americans have something on their credit report that shouldn’t be there. Our credit scores impact many aspects of our lives, from where we work and live, to the cars we drive, and the cost of our insurance.
- Think about your core money beliefs. Are your beliefs about money positive or negative? Before you answer, really pause and think about it. Most of us have more negative beliefs about money than we do positive. And negative money beliefs can keep us from reaching our ultimate potential.
- Clarify and crystalize your top three financial priorities. What’s your biggest money goal for the next 12 months? For the next three years? For the next 25 years? Write them down with pen and paper.
- Open the necessary account. If one of your goals is stock investing, open a brokerage account. If it’s retirement planning, open an IRA. The idea here is to take positive action and to get started.
- Have a monthly meeting to go over your finances. Whether you realize it or not, you’re the CFO of your financial life and you need to act accordingly and review how you’re doing on your priorities. It’s smart to get into the habit of doing this even if you don’t think you’ve got enough going on. Start as you mean to go.
Do you feel and think doing these things will help you get better at money and on the path to getting good at it? It will.
These small actions will get you started and that’s one of the biggest parts of success: getting started. Go to a coffee shop with a pen and paper and make it happen.
As always I encourage you to talk with someone about what you’re working to get better at. Talk to a friend, coworker, or your favorite cousin. Don’t feel like doing that? Get info on financial coaching and hop on a call. As always, ask us anything. Enter your question here. We answer all of them.
One last thing before you go: click here for free access to our Get Out of Debt course!
Let’s go!