How To Live Your Richest Life in 2022
The beginning of a new year is a great time to get finances in order and make monetary goals. Perhaps you’re shooting for the stars this year and want to make the most money you’ve ever made. It might be to go on a big trip you’ve owed yourself, buy a house, pay off debt or simply to prove yourself you can. There’s plenty of reasons why you want to make money, but here’s how you can ensure you have the richest year of your life in 2022.
Make Short-Term & Long-Term Financial Goals
Though paying off student loans might be a good and worthy long-term goal, or a goal you have every year that you’re working toward over time, it’s also important to make short-term goals to give you momentum along the way to greater financial success. Those short-term goals can be things like saving up for a really nice new pair of shoes, or to add $50 a month to your savings account. When the year starts, write down a nice mix of goals you can achieve within the year, and each month. Then, have your long-term goals like “buy a house” or “have $20,000 in savings” be goals you work towards, with mid-year and end of year check-in point to assess your progress.
Adjust Your Budget
If you have a monthly budget, look over all the months from 2021 and see where you might have spent too much. Make one of your 2022 goals to spend less in that category, and instead budget that money toward one of your other goals you hope to achieve by the end of the year. If you don’t have a monthly budget, it’s probably a good time to make one. Use one month to spend as you normally would, then take a look and see exactly where your money is going, then reassign where you’d like it to go for the next month to make sure you meet your goals.
Negotiate for a Higher Salary
This is an unprecedented time in the U.S. job market. The rate of employees that quit their jobs reached an all-time high of 2.9 percent in August equalling 4.3 million resignations. “The Great Resignation” is actually really good news for those who are happy with the job they’re currently doing. Right now, there’s a supply problem: companies aren’t finding enough people to hire for the amount of jobs they’re hiring for. As someone who is staying in a position, you have leverage to ask for a higher salary simply because you’re not part of the mass resignations. Of course, it’s always wise to put together a case explaining the work you’ve done in the past year that might warrant a raise.
The Great Resignation also means that if you’re looking for a job, you’re in a good position to ask for a higher salary than what you made at your last job, or even more than you think you should earn. Remember, you’re worth what companies pay you. If a hiring manager says they can pay you what you ask for, you’re worth it.
Pick Up a Side Hustle
If you weren’t able to get a higher salary–or even if you were and are still looking for a way to grow your financial portfolio, there are plenty of side jobs that you can do in addition to your full-time job. Though your probably familiar with the common ones in today’s economy like driving for ride-share services and delivering food, there are also opportunities to house sit, participate in focus groups, or simply selling some of the stuff you don’t use any more to bring in some extra cash.
Tips:
Start Investing If You’re Not Already
Investing can seem daunting if you’ve never considered it before, but you probably have already done it without realizing. Your 401K is a form of investing. Just because you can’t access the money right away doesn’t mean it’s not being invested and growing over time. Other investment opportunities work similarly, except that you can get to the money before you retire. Apps like Betterment make investing easy and cheap. With Betterment, you can start with as little as $10 and an algorithm will invest your money based on your goals. You can also get personalized advice from real people as your investment journey goes along.
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