Stuff Digital Edition

Inspiration for money goals

Susan Edmunds Business editor

It’s about this time of year when lots of people start to think about what they want the next 12 months to look like.

Many of us will be hoping the next year is an improvement on the previous two lockdown-blighted ones. The Covid years have been an interesting experience from a personal finance perspective – some people have come out the other side with bolstered savings accounts, while others are juggling hire-purchase agreements for spa pools and new lounge suites. Some are wondering whether house prices will ever come back within reach.

But however 2022 pans out, we have some inspiration this issue for all your money resolutions.

We can help whether you’re wanting to save money, buy a house, spend less at Christmas or just generally improve your financial life.

Many people think of resolution-setting as a bit of a futile exercise. You only need to compare the gym carpark in the first week of January with a month later to see that many people don’t stick to their best intentions.

But when you get one right, a good goal to work towards can actually be transformational. This issue features the story of Chanel Ngaruhe, who was able to totally break free from what she described as her chains of debt within a year. She paid off $36,000.

The key to a good resolution is that it is measurable – so you can chart your progress and work out when you get there – and something you really want.

A resolution you make just because you think you should probably isn’t going to stick. Anyone who has tried to quit smoking can probably relate to this.

A goal that is intangible and leaves you not really sure whether you’ve achieved it or not doesn’t offer much hope, either. Planning to save more money won’t do much unless you quantify exactly how much you want to save.

Keep your resolutions simple and set up a system so that you clearly know whether you’re on track. Don’t worry if your goals will take a while to reach – we tend to overestimate what we can achieve in the short term but underestimate significantly what we can achieve when given time.

If you’re still not really sure what you want to achieve, we can help, too. We’ve asked a range of personal finance experts what their top tip would be to improve a person’s financial life. Pick a few of those that appeal to you and see what changes you can make.

Happy Christmas from the Stuff Business team – we hope you have an enjoyable break and a prosperous new year.

MOney IQ

en-nz

2021-11-28T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-11-28T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://stuff.pressreader.com/article/283094187390728

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