5 FINANCIAL STRATEGIES FOR THE FUTURE

Whoever we are, regardless of age and income, one thought is common in us all – sustainability. We concern ourselves with how we can sustain our current standard of living over future years. We plan for, or at least, think about financial sustenance into the future, which differs as per age level. The young make financial plans on how to achieve one thing or the other – like buy a house or a car or a business; those close to retirement juggle the thoughts of how and what to live on, when they no longer can work.

Whichever category you fall into, knowing and following the right financial strategies can help you save that future you envision. Below are some strategies that can help you secure a better financial future.

Make a budget; follow it. This may sound cliché, but many don’t know how to make one and follow it. Make an expenses projection based on what you earn/make currently and make sure they don’t shoot beyond your income. Whether you are an employee living on paychecks or a business owner, cut down your expenses. Identify those things that costs you more money monthly, think of a way to reduce such cost implication and implement your solution. Often, a huge number of negligible expenses eats into our income unnoticeably. Making a budget and sticking to it will eliminate such expenses, leaving us with more money to save or invest monthly.

Save and Invest. Another common thing, but hear me out. Don’t just save funds to cover future expenses – that is not very smart. The only factor to a secured financial future is to have money and money don’t grow when they are locked away. A $2000 you keep today is going to be $2,000 in 5 years, ceteris paribus. What I often advise is, save to invest. Investing $2,000 now could yield $20,000 in 5 years, depending on the type of investment. While you should save part of your income for future expenses, you should save a larger chunk of it for investments. Approach reliable financial professionals or even business owners for business/investment advice, evaluate them properly and invest in them if you’re confident about them. Also, don’t limit yourself to one or two investments, invest in diverse sectors as your capability dictates.

Get adequate insurance; let the insurance company bear your losses. Transfer your risks to them, so that when something goes south, you have well-laid bed to fall on. Get medical insurance, household member death insurance, destruction of home and/or family property, etc.

Build a formidable you. One very good thing to invest in is oneself. Don’t be the same person you were yesterday, knowledge-wise. Hone your skill daily and be uncomfortable with redundancy. Take courses to boost your employability and keep your relevance in the labor market. Develop creative ideas if you can, get patents and copyrights as applicable.