5 Ways to Improve Your Finances in 2024

As we embark on a new year, it’s a great time to review your finances and consider ways that you could improve. Sometimes this is referred to as goal setting or financial planning. Whatever you might want to call it, periodically looking at your finances is important in order to keep on a good path and hopefully make things better.

Improving your finances in 2024 is not just about managing budgets; it’s a  journey toward building a brighter, more secure future. In this article, we’ll explore five strategies to uplift your financial outlook, reduce financial pressure, and pave the way for a more promising financial year. Here are 5 ways to improve your finances in 2024.

Creating a financial plan can give you peace of mind throughout the year. Find out how to improve your finances in this podcast.

1.Embrace Technology for Budgeting:

Budgeting is a cornerstone for a way to improve your finances. It can help identify spending habits and identify expenses that you may wish to review and reduce in size.   Budgeting apps are your companions in this exciting quest, offering real-time insights into your spending habits and helping you chart a course toward financial well-being.

We recognize that life can still be too busy to effectively budget and look at all the numbers. Some folks just have to work too much or maybe there are a bunch of young kids using your pencil to draw pictures instead.

If this is you, then we would say “don’t give up”!

If you had to choose one monthly expense to track and budget for in the future we would recommend that you track your food and grocery expenses. This would include:

• eating out
• coffee shops
• corner stores
• regular grocery stores.

We feel that this is an expense where there is often room for improvement. You may be surprised out how much you are paying for coffee each month.

2.Review Your Streaming Services

Have you ever noticed how many times businesses are trying to get you to subscribe to a monthly plan? It may sound good at $6.99 per month, or some other modest amount. However, it is pretty easy to get too many of those subscriptions draining your bank account each month.

Maybe you signed up for a streaming service just to watch one movie but have since forgotten to cancel it. Now it is one year later and you have paid an awful lot for that one movie.

Our second recommendation to improve your finances in 2024 would be to review all of your subscriptions for streaming plans and decide to let at least one go. It might not sound like a lot of money but if you found $5 on the sidewalk tomorrow you would pick it up!

Pro tip: you may also want to take a look at your cable subscription cost. Do you really need all of those channels that you never watch? Maybe your favourite streaming service is enough. These are good questions to ask.

3.Review Your Credit Card Statement

Are you the type of person who never looks at a credit card statement and hopes that no one has made a mistake? Or maybe you already go over the statement line by line.

We like to say “control the controllables”. If you feel like you want to improve your finances then one way to feel more in control is to review every charge on your credit card statement. By doing this you:

• Ensure that there are no incorrect charges
• Possibly catch someone trying to scam you
• Get a better understanding of where you are spending your money.

It does not take that long and is a good financial habit to build.

4.Save a Very Small Amount Each Month

Our fourth recommendation for improving your finances this year is to save a very small amount each month. Maybe you, or someone you know, made a new years resolution to save up an emergency fund or start a savings plan. In our experience, this type of financial goal has a good chance of failing if the monthly amount is too high.

Life happens and unexpected expenses can arise. When they do, it is likely that the monthly savings will  not occur.

However, if you pick a monthly amount to save that is very small, there is a better chance of that savings plan continuing month after month which is the key. You see, the important part is not the amount. The important part for building savings is time.

If you are a person that likes to use cash, then perhaps saving the loonies and toonies that you handle each month will be best. Or, if you are more of a debit card person, ask your bank or credit union if they have a plan where they will move 50 cents into savings each time you use your debit card.

5.Talk With a Pro

Chances are that if you are reading this, you are on our website because you, or someone you know, has some debt problems. If the amount of that debt is too large, the strategies listed above may not be enough to turn the momentum in your favour.

Personal finances are a lot about momentum. Having too much debt can create negative momentum that is very hard to change. Fortunately, the Canadian Government has programs in place to help you get a fresh start. For example, a Consumer Proposal is an excellent way to consolidate unsecured debt. In fact, it is the most popular method of debt consolidation in Canada. This must be filed via a Licensed Insolvency Trustee which is who we are.

We Are Here To Help

Here at Chase & Associates, we offer a free consultation where we will gain an understanding of your situation and provide you with some information about practical options to improve it.

Once you make the decision to contact us and do something about your debt you are more than half way there to a brighter financial future.

Remember, your financial journey is a story of hope and empowerment – one that unfolds with every positive step you take. Cheers to a year filled with financial growth and the promise of a brighter tomorrow!