Sensible 2023 Financial Resolutions to pass on to children or grandchildren

Here are a few resolutions that might be worth passing on to your children or grandchildren to help them make smart financial decisions in 2023.

Avoid Buy-Now-Pay-Later where possible

Using the SMART goal method can be an effective way of ensuring you create financial resolutions that you adhere to. SMART stands for goals that are specific, measurable, actionable, realistic and time-based. For example, one of the things you can do is to not use buy-now-pay-later facilities when your cash flow is tight. While it may seem like an easy option at the tight, many consumers put themselves under immense pressure in the following months to make payments for items they already used and forgotten about.

Use an easy-to-use money saving app

Helping your money to go further by using a money-saving app may be one of the easiest resolutions you can keep. There are plenty of these apps out there that reward you by giving you cashback for your everyday purchases. Once you’ve got enough cashback, you can use that money to buy something else, without having to dip into your hard-earned savings.

Leave your savings in a high interest earning account

If you have money that you know you’re not going to touch, why not go one step further and make sure your money increases in value rather than just sitting in an account doing nothing? Putting money in a high interest earning account can help you generate some passive income. It could be in the form of rainy-day funds in a high interest earning savings account or alternatively, your mortgage offset account which won’t attract tax and reduce the principal. Reducing the principal through an offset account means your loan can be paid off sooner than you anticipated.

Make the most of round-up facilities

Many financial institutions provide the option to open a ‘round-up’ account that can help you save money while you spend. Allowing you to nominate a figure to the nearest dollar, small change from all purchases can automatically go to a separate ‘round-up’ account, which can quickly add up to become your personal emergency fund. Check with your financial institution whether they offer the option of opening a ‘round-up’ account.

Try and save 10% of any bonus money you get

If you were lucky enough to get a Christmas gift from work or family, it’s a good idea to resist the temptation to spend it all at once. You can put away a certain amount of that money straight into your savings or ‘emergency fund’. Think about your bonus as money you weren’t expecting to receive. Now that you have it, make the most of it.

If you think a family member could benefit from sitting down with a Tempus Wealth financial planner, we'd be happy to organise a meeting with yourself and your child or grandchild. Please contact the office to discuss.

Any advice is general in nature only and has been prepared without considering your needs, objectives of financial situation. Before acting on it you should consider its appropriateness for you, having regard to those factors. Always obtain and consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statement before deciding whether to acquire a financial product.