Keeping your finances in order is an important part of building wealth, and it doesn’t have to take a lot of time.
Taking a quick five minute check on your finances while you eat breakfast or go to work can help you feel in control of your money. Although you’ll want to adjust your method to suit your specific needs, here’s a five-step starting point. Each step should take no more than a minute.
1. Check if you have earned
Start by making sure you have received all the money you expect. The most obvious is your salary, and you don’t have to do this every day if you work a job with a regular payday. However, self-employed workers with many clients should monitor their balances regularly.
If you’re expecting another type of income, such as Social Security, it’s important to check your accounts on the day you expect it. You can even take this moment to see if the friend who owes you dinner has paid you back.
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2. Look forward to the appointed days
The second minute of the five-minute morning routine involves looking at your calendar and seeing if you have any upcoming bill payments. Prioritize bills that are due within the next few days.
This may include moving money. For example, if you have a credit card payment due in three days but don’t have enough money in your checking account to pay it, transfer some money from your savings.
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3. Review the goal
While you should always check your financial goals, limiting that to one goal per day can help alleviate some of the stress that can come with saving for all your milestones.
Maybe you have a vacation coming up in a few months that you want to save for a set amount of money, or you’re planning to buy a car. Review how much you’ve saved and how much you’re saving regularly to meet the goal, and check how you can make changes if needed.
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4. Commit to one task
When it comes to improving your financial health, even small moves can make a big difference. Take the fourth minute in your schedule to identify one activity that will improve your finances. You don’t have to do this exercise right now, but you should make time for it later in the day.
Some examples are emailing your financial advisor, filing an insurance claim, unsubscribing from a streaming service or increasing your 401(k) contribution amount.
5. Digitally declutter
The last minute is a brief digital clean-up, which can include deleting unnecessary files, emails, accounts and other things that eat up brain space, as well as space on your devices.
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