We are only 5 months into the year and we can all agree that whew! We’ve been through so much that it’s starting to feel like the 5 months has been 5 years.

We’re all in a state of the unknown. We are living in times of uncertainty, but, maybe it is about time we started making the best out of this time. You may have set some SMART goals for the year but as we all know; COVID-19 happened.

With that being said, I would like to challenge you today to see 2020 as a year of reset.

What are the things that we could rest?

Habits

Now is the best time to unlearn a couple of things and learn a few more things. According to research, it takes about 21 days to form new habits and since we’ve been in lockdown for over 21 days, and we don’t know how long this will take; it is best to start new healthy habits.

By healthy habits, I also mean healthy financial habits. How?

–        Separate spending between needs and wants (If you don’t need it, don’t buy it)

–        Set up a savings plan (remember, it is okay to start small. Just start)

–        Participate in your employer-sponsored retirement plan (If you can)

–        Start looking into investing. (Be smart about this and try to conduct as much research as you can before investing)

–        Find ways to eliminate your debts (The road to a healthy financial life is to have minimum to no debt at all under your /business name)

Goals

As I have expressed in the beginning that we have now had to relook at how we do things and how we ultimately live our lives. What is great about this time is that you get to reset your goals, adapt to how things are currently and see how you can work your way around ‘surviving’ this storm.

When it comes to your financial goals, here are some of the goals that I think you could look at and possibly reset:

–        Start a budget and live by it

–        Pay off your debts/credits as consistently as you can

–        Develop skills to improve your income (work on your qualifications, start a new side business to boost your cash flow)

–        Financial planning (Look at what you plan on spending on in the long-term. This includes buying a house, a car, when will you retire, how you intend on investing into your business)

Values

This is where we further evaluate what we deem as needs or wants and cut out as many of the wants as we can to ensure that we save money and maintain a healthy cash flow for yourself/business.

–        Sell what you don’t need. (You need the money back into your budget)

–        Now is a good time to re-examine what gives you joy in life. Many people have expensive hobbies which cost money to do and to maintain. If you can’t hardly afford your bills and groceries, the motorcycles, boats, trips, and more need to go. Selling them would help to pay more debt and build up your savings.

 –        Unsubscribe and delete anything that will derail your restructured budget. (I do mean anything that will tempt you)

–        Use the 7-day rule. If you really think you need to purchase something, commit to waiting seven days. After seven days, ask yourself if you really need that item especially if it will derail your budget.

–        Do not let your lifestyle define your budget and your finances. Too many people think they need to keep up appearances or maintain a certain lifestyle. This doesn’t work when you are trying to reset your finances.

Changing and adapting is not an easy task. It takes a lot of discipline and courage, however, remember that you can do it, and if you can’t; ask someone who can to show you how.

If you need assistance with your business, drop me an email on info@cvwab.co.za or go to our website for more information. www.cvwab.co.za. We would be happy to discuss what our outsourced accountants and bookkeepers can do for you.