On top of the damaging health effects so many have experienced due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the negative impacts of the virus don’t stop there—it’s also introduced financial instability to countless individuals in America. Whether you missed out on your annual company bonus or are dealing with being furloughed or laid off, financial stress is at an all time high for many Americans. The Commonwealth Fund reported that over 30 percent of Americans say they’re facing negative economic impacts due to the pandemic.Â
[Read more…]Future Self Journaling Guide: How to Set Financial Goals That Pay Off Later
Future self journaling is like writing a letter to your future self. Instead of putting your future self’s goals on a pedestal, journal as if you’ve already reached those milestones. For instance, if you’d like to have a thousand dollars in savings (in the future), act like you do now. You may feel like a budgeting queen or king ensuring that you don’t overspend on the next shopping outing you have. To set and track your goals in a fun way, pick up future self journaling with our tips below.Â
How to Start Self-Journaling
First, you have to pick up your pen, or pencil, and your journal. Sit down for 10 to 30 minutes and journal as if you are already the person you see as your future self. You’re making money moves, creating the career of your dreams, and being smart with your investments.Â
Add journaling to your morning routine to keep up this habit while you sip your coffee in the morning.
Keep Up the Good Work With Journal Prompts
Now, keep it up. As you transition into this new way of tracking your goals, you may have writer’s block. Keep journal prompts on the backburner to spark creativity when you need it most. Print out and use our future self journaling prompt sheets. Even compare your answers with your loved ones to see what their future self looks like.Â
How to Get the Most Out of Your Future Self Journal
You may have your goals right in front of you, yet you lack the motivation to check them off your to-do list. To spark creativity look towards your future self journal to help motivate you to reach your biggest career, lifestyle, and budget goals. Keep this habit up for 66 days to fully implement this habit into your routine.
Goal setting shows where you’d like to be in a certain amount of time, but it may be another obstacle when achieving these goals. Keep up with your career, your lifestyle, and your budget using Mint’s app and these go-to printables.
How Do You Budget For $0?
You’re getting your paycheck today, but soon you realize that everything is spoken for and you’re actually left with $0 in your pocket. Â You’re living from paycheck to paycheck, the first one pays for the mortgage then the next pays the bills. Â What are you left with? Â How will you survive?
My experience tells me that it is in these times that a budget plan is really important.  Sure you’ve got $0 in the pocket, but that’s better than having like say $-5,000 in loan!  Ha!  There are hundreds of thousands of people walking in the city that have an average of  -5,000+ dollars in their bank account.  Yeah it’s terrible than $0.
I won’t try to sweeten how you feel now, but squarely I’d say that life is tough. Â You need to put your hard-chin up and face the music. Â Even at $0 you can take control. Â From here on make sure you you grip every penny. Â List every expense, even if you feel it’s useless to do so… you gotta monitor every penny!
You’d finally see how money is coming in and out once everything’s written down. Â It may just surprise you too that it reveals hope. Â When you monitor how money comes in and out you’d be aware of spending patterns, you’d get to know where you can adjust a little tighter to pinch out a penny more into savings.
Believe you me… it is hard… but really worth it!
Financial Realities Women Must Face
In today’s society, men and women are supposed to be equal. We do have to face the fact that the word “supposed” is the key here. While it is the ideal situation, it is not always the case. In terms of finances and financial planning, women need to realize certain things. I just read a very thought-provoking article on this topic written by Marci Alboher, and it is worth sharing with you guys. She writes that women should focus on finances for the following reasons.
1. Women earn less than men. While this is not always the case (I know a lot of women who earn more than their husbands), the numbers support this. It may be due to various reasons – from career choice to wage gap. Bottom line: women need to deal with the fact that they might not have as much money to play around with as their male counterparts.
2. Women engage in paid work for fewer years. Again, the reasons vary, but one of the main things is that women take more time off of work. They get pregnant, they need to take kids to school, on trips, or to the doctor. This, of course, affects how women can save for retirement.
3. Women live longer. This is a well known fact, and women have to realize that this requires more in terms of resources.
4. Women still grapple with the “a man is a financial plan” mindset. This may sound archaic, but it still does happen. Every now and then, you’ll meet a woman dreaming of that prince who will take care of her.
5. Women are not encouraged to negotiate their true worth. Nothing more needs to be said, huh?
Bottom line: women should start planning their financial future NOW.
Social Media CAN Hurt You Financially
Last year, the popularity of social networks reached astonishing heights. All over the world, it seemed that everyone suddenly decided to join one social network or another. While it all seems innocuous on the surface, there are some financial implications of joining these networks. Maybe you’ve thought about these, but in case you haven’t, let me point some out.
Your chances of landing a job may be affected. In a bad way, is what I mean. I am sure you have heard of people getting in trouble at work because of Facebook. You might even have heard of prospective employers checking out the Facebook accounts of applicants. This is all true. While what you do and put on Facebook is your personal business, what potential employers see can affect their decision. And if you don’t get a job just because an employer’s impression was affected by your Facebook account, that would really be a bummer. Solution? Make sure you keep your profile private and that you really know who your Facebook friends are.
You can be tracked down more easily by collectors. This one is a no brainer. You may be ignoring phone calls and mail from collectors but they can always track you down online. The solution is the same as above. More so, do not publish details such as phone numbers and addresses.
You open up the risk for identity theft. There will always be scammers online despite the best efforts of social network security. Again, just make sure that you do not divulge any specific information that can be used by others.