Mind and body they are always being ushered into health, on television, on the internet, in our emails and anywhere else you can think of, but what about your financial health, how do you keep your finances in good health and good strength, there are many ways in which do do this and there is no one special way, just like physical health, you have to find what works for you and go with it. Some are into lifting weights and others are into keeping their hearts healthy, and not muscle mass. You have to ask yourself, what financial sculpting to I want to do.
[Read: The Way Towards Financial Success]
Factors to Consider
- Your Age
- Your Work
- Your Long Term Goals
- Your short Term Goals
Just as fitness fits into your lifestyle, so too does your financial fitness, you have to take into consideration your age, your job, your long and short term goals. If you are young and starting out, you may be able to be more aggressive, as there is more time to repair a mistake, or if you are looking to buy a house and settle down because your job is long term and permanent. Of maybe you are getting a late start at financial health, no problem, it is never to late. Lets look at some specific techniques.
BUILDING EMERGENCY SAVINGS
This is a very important step in your financial health, whether old or young, unexpected emergencies will come up, and the problem is that you just never know when, but they will come up. After you have created a solid household budget, and you have found places to trim the excess, you need to take that money and set is aside, in a hard to access place. Your goal should be six months of your income replacement. Take your budget, and multiply it by six, and there you are, your minimum target emergencies fund. But don’t stop there, keep going, if you are able, because the more you have, the better safety net.
PAY ON TIME
Part of your financial health is your credit score, it is like your blood pressure, you cannot really see it all the time, but it is an important number, and good financial health will keep this number high. Makig payments on time is the easiest way to maintain your score, and increase it, after you pay down debt, you have to make all those payments before their due date, the track record of your payments will be with you for a long time if you pay late, just like those Twinkies will be in with you for a long time in your physical well being.
PREVENT THEFT
One of the most damaging things that can happen to you is to have your identity stolen or compromised, lets face it, the thief could care less about your live, and they are going to work hard and fast at destroying your life and hard work. Putting a solid theft procedure in place is key. You can have a service monitor your credit, and red flag any bizarre issues, and shut it down, thus stopping the theft all together. Another less remembered but equally important thing to do is to eliminate your monthly paper trail, you should destroy all your papers as soon as you can, and if possible scan them into a hard drive, and store that in a locked safe, thereby having access to them electronic image in case there is an issue down the road, and with the capacity of storage these days, you may never have to get rid of anything.
CONSTANTLY REVIEW
Everyone makes mistakes, and most are oversights or unintended, but you have to look closely at all your monthly statements to make sure that you, your creditor, or a third party did not make some mistake on your statements. It is easy to overlook this step and just look at the payment amount and due date and be done, but if there are mistakes that arise this could impact your balances, or your future credit, so be diligent.
[Read: How to Make Your Financial Future Secure for Good]
CONCLUSION
So, as you can see there are many things to take into consideration and many ways to keep your financial health in order, just as your physical being, you must take the time to map out a plan of action and determine what you want to achieve. It is an ever evolving process, therefore, from time to time you should reassess your plan and adjust accordingly. But keep in mid the factors mentioned above and follow the four points and you will be on your way to a strong financial well being. When you look to financial health do not forget physical health, a strong mind and body will carry over into a great outlook on life and a desire to improve throughout.