My financial goals for 2021

Going in 2021 I felt as if I have lost a lot during 2020 and that I should at least try to turn the table in my favor this year. But one month into the new year I realized that some of the goals that I set might be a bit too ambitious, therefore I am doing my best to be as realistic as possible with what can be accomplished in an abnormal year like the one we have in front of us. Since last week the FP team hosted the webinar related to Taking Control Over your Finances and the question of the financial goals popped, I have laid down my list for this year. 

1. Learn how to stick to a budget

I have kept the books with what I am spending for years, usually, I am pretty good with money, but I do like to spend on useless fashion items. So learning to stick to a budget and try to shop as little as possible is, and always was, a challenge.  

This year I created a weekly budget that I am doing my best to keep and I try to look over my spending habits to better understand where my money is going.

2. Pay my loan in advance 

I bought my apartment in October 2018 with two loans taken from the bank, the one for the down payment was closed at the beginning of last year and I have since paid a little extra on the other loan. I still have around 44000 euros to pay back to the bank and I want to focus on it for the next year. 

I have to admit it is hard to budget and then give all the money to the bank, but I also know that I will save so much in the long run by doing so. I hope at the end of the year I will be left with half of this sum.

3. Buy only what I need 

When it comes to shopping I love to just spend on items that look pretty or that would fit so well in my lifestyle. Yet in 2020 I worked from home almost completely and the plan is not to return to the office in the upcoming months. Therefore, I am left with a lot of clothes or makeup products that I’ve never used because I had nowhere to go. With restaurants and bars closed and the cold weather here, I am almost always in my casual clothes.

Until we will be back in the office, I plan on cutting the shopping as much as possible.

4. Home workouts 

Going to the gym or paying for a personal trainer can be very expensive, for 2021 I plan on sticking to the routine that I created in 2020, using Youtube as the main source of inspiration and doing the workouts at home. Furthermore, since I am not leaving my house, I will not invest in any fancy equipment or outfits. 

5. Meal prepping 

Back in the day when I was going to the office, one of my meals (lunch) was always bought from one of the restaurants in the city center (where the office was placed). The remaining two meals were indeed at home, but even so, to lunch, I added a coffee and maybe a dessert. Since, again, I will not be returning to the office anytime soon, I plan on meal prepping for the weekdays, leaving me with the weekends to enjoy some takeout food and hopefully going to a nice restaurant in the future. 

There is one category that I intentionally left out and that is traveling. Since 2020 was a very awful year from that perspective, if there is a way we can return to traveling in the summer I do intend to indulge in 3 trips around different areas of the world. It all depends on how fast we can get vaccinated and how will the pandemic evolve, so at least for now, we can only hope for the best. I do save a small amount of money for this purpose each month, so I am prepared for when the moment I set foot on my favorite aisle again.

From a financial point of view, 2020 was a good year for me, I was among the lucky ones who didn’t have an impact on the income (but my partner had). I managed to save and reimburse some money, even if it was not as much as I hoped and for the most part I stayed within my monthly budget. There is still a lot to learn for me in this area and I do feel like we should take advantage of every opportunity that is given to us to get better at controlling our finances.