My New Year resolution is investing in myself. Paying myself first. I have read and heard the same from every motivator and financial advisor. You need to pay yourself first. A few ways of doing this:

Separate an amount or percentage of your paycheck and open a retirement account if you don’t have one or contribute more to your retirement account and make this a habit. Many like myself started doing this for a couple of years and then stopped because other expenses came along and I didn’t feel in a position of investing the little money I had. That was then.

In the new year, I started putting money aside by giving up my daily coffee and bringing my own lunch to work a couple of days out of the week. Think about the expenses that you can cut so you can put some money aside.

Some employers offer a retirement plan and in some cases they can match your contributions so find out if that is available to you.

If you don’t have a retirement account, consider opening a Roth IRA or a Roth. These accounts offer great tax incentives.

The normal expenses on a house are a mortgage, car payments, insurance, groceries, fuel, and house maintenance.

The truth is that in our consumer culture a lot of people buy more of what they can afford. Having too many credit cards can be a negative. In some cases, it could be beneficial but you need to track your expenses and be truly honest on what you need vs. what you want.

When I am about to make an expensive purchase I usually sleep on it. I never buy things out of impulse. I also research extensively to ensure that it’s the absolute best price I can get it for and evaluate whether the item is a need or a luxury. Truthfully, if I can’t pay it with cash, there is 50% chance I won’t buy. If I don’t get a discount, there is a 75% chance I won’t buy it.

Opening an investment account is also a great idea. There are so many ways to invest. I will be talking in the future about apps or websites that are very resourceful for investing whether finding a company that can manage your account or doing it yourself.

Image source: Kiplinger