A NEW YEAR, another beginning, hopefully a happier one for us all. I love the first week of the year, as each day unfolds, I feel a sense of renewal, the opportunity to put the past behind and to turn a new page, a crisp, clean one; as I try to hold on to the sense that the clock is reset and still ticking slowly, giving me the time to catch my breath and start again. I’m excited about the potential to create another chapter in my story, hoping to improve on the last one, learning from but not dwelling on past mistakes, feeling older and wanting to be wiser. 2022 was a challenging year for the world, no corner left unscathed by the impact of wars, political upheaval, post-pandemic blues; the chimes of negative news seemed to be many decibels louder than previous years. Our vocabulary is now littered with new mantras like ‘interest rate hikes’, ‘rising inflation’, ‘market volatility’, ‘climate change’ and the dreaded ‘cost of living crisis.’!
I won’t list in detail or analyse the causes of all these events, nor will I delve into a debate about how or why even the behaviour of our politicians did not give us the reassurance that we have a right to expect (like children do of their responsible parents), that they had any solutions as we hurtled towards a ‘recession’. Like me, you probably felt that the world had gone mad and nothing seemed to be going right!
We have every reason to be relieved that 2022 is behind us and like the words of the song by Oasis, “don’t look back in anger”. The best thing we can do for ourselves and for our mental & emotional health is to keep moving forward, without hesitation, without looking back, except perhaps to remind ourselves of where we don’t want to be!
It was Albert Einstein that said “Life is like riding a bicycle, to keep your balance, you must keep moving.”
So, it’s 2023, hurrah! A year of promises-to-be fulfilled. Yep! I promise myself to increase my step-count on my journey to financial freedom and to take as many of our Wealth 8 community on that journey with me.
The data (and the media) make it clear that the UK economy is not out of the woods yet, as the dreaded ‘recession’ is now a part of our everyday lives. Whether it will be a mild or a deep recession is anyone’s guess, but its impact on each of us and on our families is real and scary. But whatever happens, we gotta keep moving and if we tell ourselves that the only way is up, then what are we doing to get there? Let’s focus on core principles, tried and tested learnings that can set us up for success.
Whilst we can ‘hope’ for a better year than the last one, ‘hope’ is not a strategy. Instead, here are 3 tips that may help to future proof your wallet this year (and beyond), as we batten down the hatches and ride out the storm:
(1) A DIVERSIFIED PORTFOLIO – a diversified portfolio may help you to weather the turmoil, because when some investments are down others can be up and create a stable, balancing effect on your investments. Remember that when you invest your capital is at risk and you could get back less than you invested.
(2) INVEST CONSISTENTLY – you could set up a direct debit or standing order every month and start putting away a small amount regularly into your portfolio. Pay yourself first (by setting up a long-term savings & investment habit) and you could benefit from the effects of dollar cost averaging and compound interest to build your wealth over time. Guess what! Even when the stock market is down, your investment this month, will get you more stocks and shares than when the market was buoyant. Consistent investing means you may benefit when the market rebounds.
(3) BUDGET EFFECTIVELY – Now, more than ever before, we need to track our income and expenses. Make a list of all your sources of income and a list of your expenses (both fixed and variable) and then compare to see if you’re spending more than you earn; if you are, you’ll need to cut back or find ways to increase your income.
You could consider using the 50/30/20 rule:
50% of your income is for your essential expenses (like housing) i.e. what you need;
30% of your income is for non-essential expenses i.e. what you want;
20% of your income is for savings and debt repayment
The aim of this method is to ensure that you start putting something away for a rainy day (emergency) or for the long term (retirement) or for medium term goals (e.g. buying a home).
There’s no better way to kick start your 2023 money goals than to start your money management with a solid plan for saving and investing.
REMEMBER, if you don’t control your money, you don’t control your life!!
Let’s Elev8 our money game!
This information is for educational purposes and is not intended as investment advice.
From the desk of the CEO @ Weatlh8
Capital at risk. When investing, your investment's value may rise or fall and there are no guarantees you will get back all the capital you have invested.