The Wall Street Journal recently shared there are two times when you are most likely to follow through with your money goals (or any goal for that matter): the new year, and your birthday. So, if you want to become richer in 2020, now is the best time to set up the money goals necessary to achieve success. While the specifics of your goals should be tied to your individual situation, here are a few ideas to get you started. When you start brainstorming your financial goals for the year, make sure to keep an eye on the big picture. It’s easy to get caught up with trivial saving and earning goals – but those won’t make you rich. Instead, focus on the high-level items below and you’ll be well on your way to ending this year with far more wealth than you have now.

1. Start tracking your finances and credit score
   • Do you know your total net worth, how much cash you have in the bank, and how much debt is on each of your credit cards? Knowing these details is an essential first step to building wealth. And it’s actually very easy to do. I use the free tool, Personal Capital, to track all of my finances in one place – and I LOVE it! After connecting my credit cards, banks, investment accounts, and Zillow property values, everything updates automatically. All I need to do is log into one account to see my net worth over time, all of my debt, and whether I’m making more money than I spend every month (which is very important for building wealth).
   • Additionally, keeping a high credit score can literally save you thousands of dollars a year – as it’s a key factor used to determine interest rates for your mortgage, car loans, etc.. And it’s rumored that some employers will even look at credit scores when deciding whether or not to hire someone. While there are many services online that offer to track your score if you pay them – you should never need to pay for your credit score. Many credit cards will now provide you with a free copy of your credit report every quarter. Alternatively, another one of my favorite tools, Credit Karma, will give you free access to your credit report – along with providing free tax preparation software.
2. Do an audit of your ongoing expenses (This could save you thousands!)
   • Many people end up paying recurring fees for unnecessary and unused services. Some examples of costs you should review to start off your new year (and potentially eliminate) include:
     • Stop paying storage fees for junk you don’t use
       
       If you pay to store a boat, RV, or storage unit full of old furniture, ask yourself if it’s really worth the cost. If you spend $1,000 to store an RV you take out for one week a year, it may be worth it to rent instead. And if you’ve had a storage unit for over a year, and you aren’t in the process of moving, it’s time to get rid of it.
     • Stop paying high insurance premiums “just in case”
       
       Every insurance agent on earth will try to oversell you with “just in case”. Insurance should be to protect you from costs you cannot afford – buying extra only benefits your agent.
     • Make sure you’re only paying for insurance you need – and you could cut down your annual costs by a few grand.
     • Find and stop hidden subscription services
       
       So many people still pay $10/month for a Hulu or Netflix free trial they forgot to cancel 2 years ago. You should never pay for a subscription service you don’t use (or forgot about). So start tracking those recurring expenses and turning them off!
   • Check to see if your credit card company or bank tracks these recurring expenses for you. If not (or if you want extra protection) consider using the free tool Trim. The Trim App tracks your financial accounts and sends you texts if it notices a recurring payment, annual fee, or surprise transactions. Trim can save you on all kinds of bills.
   • Negotiate lower bills for your utilities and other recurring expenses
     
     The last tip for lowering your monthly billing
3. Make this the year you pay down debt
   • Every dollar of debt you pay down today can be worth hundreds of dollars in the future – so make this year the year you pay off as much of your debt as possible! A few hacks that can help you pay off your debt faster include:
     • Pay off your credit cards first
       
       Credit card debt is generally the worst kind of debt, as the interest rate is so high. The first thing you should do in 2020 is to make it a goal to pay off credit card debt. Fortunately, there’s an app for that – two actually. If you’re looking for help paying off your credit card debt, check out both Tally and Qoins, as these two apps can help you pay off your debt faster, while decreasing the total amount you pay.
     • Refinance your debt (if appropriate)
       
       As we enter 2020, student loan interest rates are as low as 1.90%. If you pay closer to 6-7%, refinancing your student loans could save you significantly.
     • Just make sure you don’t refinance if you’re working toward government loan forgiveness, as refinancing could prevent you from qualifying.
4. Automate your investment savings
   • The most valuable decision you can make for your future is to start investing now. Experts suggest saving 15-20% of your income is ideal. If you can’t hit that amount, just save as much as you can. The two tips to remember when investing are to:
     • Automate your contributions. If you have money going into a retirement account every month, without any effort on your part, you’ll be far more likely to save for the long-run.
     • Diversify your investments. This is just a fancy way of saying “don’t put all of your money in one stock”.