Looking for less stress and more progress when it comes to reaching your #MoneyGoals? Here are five positive money habits to cultivate and hone to help you on your journey to financial freedom.

1. Make a plan

You have to know where you are going in order to reach the destination. And this couldn’t be more true when it comes to your financial future. This is why it’s crucial to have a plan in place. This will help you in establishing goals and figuring out the actionable steps needed to reach them. This needn’t only apply to long- term goals but short-term ones as well. Saving for a holiday would be an example of a short-term goal, with paying off your bond being an example of one that will take a couple of decades to meet. Breaking your goals down into these sections can help you to prioritise accordingly.

2. Create a budget

You don’t need to be good at maths or invest in ledger books to create a budget. These days, there are plenty of online budgeting tools and spreadsheets as well as mobile apps that allow you to make lists of your fixed monthly income and costs and assign amounts to certain areas, from bills to entertainment. They’ll even do the adding and subtracting for you! This is a great way to get a holistic overview of your finances to identify areas and ways in which you can save. It also helps you to shop more mindfully because you’ll have a budge to stick to. 

3. Automate your money

Life is busy and, for many people, the end and beginning of the month can be chaotic. This is also the time that most new or ongoing bills are due. Instead of doing this manually, ask if you are able to set up a debit order so that the amounts are deducted automatically.  This is also a handy way to make sure that you save money without having to think about it. Set up a debit order from your day-to-day account that transfers cash from it directly into your savings to shorten and simplify that never-ending to-do list. 

4 Cut your costs

If we were completely honest with ourselves, we could all admit to splurging on unnecessary expenses (some more often than others!). But eliminating them can actually save you money, which can be set aside in savings or used for other important payments.  Becoming more savvy with your shopping is a great way to score when you spend and cut costs. Sign up for loyalty cards that offer discounts, compare prices and different retail outlets and look out for sales to stock up on your monthly must-haves. This can shave money off your grocery bill and go towards your financial goals.

5.  Educate yourself

Most people don’t enjoy discussing money. In fact, it is considered rude in most cultures to engage in this topic, while others might just find it plain boring! This, however, is not conducive to making good money moves. For this reason, it’s important that you educate yourself on how to attain financial freedom. This can be done by reading books or websites or listening to podcasts that deal with this complicated subject matter and make it reader- and listener-friendly. We recommend reading You’re Not Broke, You’re Pre-Rich by Mapalo Makhu or listening to My Money, My Lifestyle hosted by local money guru, Maya Fisher-French. 

Words by Helen Wallace 
Photography: Getty Images