This year has started off with a bang with many of us asking ourselves – where has January gone? In the past, the year only gets going around the 24th of January, but it seems this year was an exception with everyone heading back to work around the 10th of January. Back to business as usual!
Every December holiday, my husband and I rest as much as possible and once we feel refreshed, we tackle the next year. We look at our budget, our time management, our long- and short-term goals and we revisit the past year’s successes, failures and highlights. It gives us an opportunity to reflect back on the year, and look forward to the next year. We discuss what has worked and what we have not succeeded at. We revisit our budget to make sure it reflects our goals and family values. We discuss our time management to make sure it is in line with these goals and that we are not missing any gaps.
For example: we like to plan for unforeseen expenses, in which case we need to save for emergency expenses in an emergency fund. We like to get a discount on school fees; hence we save for school fees so we can pay for them upfront. We like to entertain and have quality time with our girls; hence we budget for entertainment and special family outings.
It is not too late to revisit your goals, budget and time management for 2014. Has your emergency savings been depleted somewhat and needs to be topped up? Have you adjusted your retirement fund contribution in line with your salary increase? Annually our bond repayments remain the same. How about increasing it in line with you annual salary increase? The bond repayment term will decrease by increasing your repayment amount.
What are your goals and family values? Don’t let the year get away from you so tackle your budget, time management and goal setting early this year. Make 2014 count!
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