Ask an Expert {Kara Perez}
Financial Wellness for the New Year
Whether it’s a goal to make more money, set up a budget, or simply become more educated about the world of finance, there’s no better time to get started than now. To help break down a few financial strategies, Kara Perez of Bravely, a financial pop up event series aimed at empowering women with the tools to take control of their financial lives, shares her best tips.
What have you found is the biggest challenge when it comes to personal finances, and what is your advice for overcoming that hurdle?
The biggest challenge for people is where to find trustworthy financial information. You may hear something from friends or at work, but people don’t know where to go to verify it. So then they don’t, and they push off their ‘financial to do list’ for another month, or another year, and time just sort of passes without them taking any action.
My company is named ‘Bravely’ because I think you need to be brave to face your money sometimes and say ‘Ok, I don’t know jack about this thing. But I’m gonna figure it out.’ That is an act of bravery! Learning about personal finance is a huge gift to yourself, because we all use money every day. And we’re always going to use money in our lives. So you may as well know as much as you can about it!
What are some must-haves when it comes to getting one’s finances in order?
I always tell people to start by looking at their current numbers and identify what they want to change about them. Pay off debt? Invest more? Just get organized? Once you know what you want to do, you can look for the tools needed to accomplish that. Not everyone needs debt pay off tools, for example, so there is no one size fits all financial plan.
That said, everyone needs a budget! Your budget may look different from mine, but everyone needs to be tracking how much money is coming in and how much is going out.
What is the first step to take when setting up a personal budget?
The first step is a deep breath and saying to yourself “budgeting is good for me.” So many think of budgeting as deprivation, or as something boring, uninteresting. Instead, budgeting is freedom! Switching the mindset from ‘budgeting sucks’ to ‘budgeting is a step towards me getting the exact life I want’ is the first step.
After that, writing down every penny you earn and every penny you spend is the next step.
Do you have any favorite tools for budgeting or tracking expenses?
I use Excel to do my in-depth budgeting, because I can create formulas and tabs that are specific to my financial goals. I love my spreadsheets. (If you’re not a spreadsheet nerd, I made some that you can find for free on my website to get you started!)
I also use a free app called Mint to help with a big picture view of my finances. I linked up all my accounts to Mint, so when I open the app I can see my credit cards, my investments, and all my bank accounts. I like being able to see everything at once. I don’t really use the budgeting tools that Mint offers, but for someone who is not a #moneynerd like me, Mint can be a really powerful tool for accountability and organization.
What is your number one tip for preparing one’s finances for the new year?
Set a specific and measurable goal. By that I mean, don’t just say “I want to save more money in 2019.” Instead, say “I want to save $10,000 in an emergency fund in 2019.” That specificity will help you, because you know exactly how much you want to save, WHY you want to save it, and how long you have to achieve that goal.
Contact
Kara Perez, Founder of Bravely
bravelygo.co
@webravelygo
