How To Keep Your Financial Planning On Track in 2021

How To Keep Your Financial Planning On Track in 2021

Resolutions lost their shine? Here’s how to get back the spark.

By Nicole Spector June 2, 2021

No matter how enthusiastic our New Year’s resolutions may have been to save more, spend less and/or take total ownership of our finances in 2021, they might now be losing their luster. The days since we made those ambitious resolutions are quickly passing and the shine is wearing off. Can’t we just cut ourselves some slack and do what makes us feel good and safe in the immediate sense, even if that means forsaking our lofty financial goals?

Try, if you can muster the energy, to return to that place of desire for a better financial life. If you feel that you’ve already blown it by, say, spending beyond your weekly budget or skipping a credit card payment, remember that a mistake doesn’t mean you can’t try again and have success.  But don’t take it from me: Take it from the experts who’ve provided a road map to keep (or get) your financial planning on track in 2021.

1. Don’t Just Track Your Spending, Chart It

“Many people simply track their finances automatically with an app – which is a great start, but what these apps don’t account for is when you stray or get off-target with your financial goal, which happens a lot,” says Amanda L. Grossman, a certified financial education instructor and personal finance blogger at FrugalConfessions.com. “What you want to do is to start calculating and then tracking the gap between where you are, and where you should be, according to your financial plan or goal.”

Visualizing your spending and how you’re tracking toward your financial goals is easy to do with Monifi. With the Monifi mobile banking app, your transactions are automatically categorized, so you can see at a glance where your money is going. Personalized tags and notes make it even easier to have a clear picture of how your spending stacks up against every budget item and goal you set.

Plus, you can make some extra cash — Monifi is currently offering $250 for new and recent account holders if you make two direct deposits of at least $1,000 into your Spend Balance. A Monifi account also comes with a complimentary contactless debit card and free access to the AllPoint ATM network.

2. Examine 2020’s Spending Habits and Plan for 2021

“The pandemic helped consumers reevaluate spending in terms of what they needed, versus what they wanted,” says Angela Holliday, president of Frost Brokerage Services, Inc. and Frost Investment Services, LLC. “With this in mind, take a look at how you managed to cut costs in 2020 and apply that where you can in 2021. Then, use the extra cash to pay off your debt. This will help you continue good habits so you can prosper in the new year.”

3. Budget for Savings

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