Be Your Own Financial Valentine

It’s three days to Valentine, so you still have time!

Like most holidays, Valentine’s Day can be very expensive and while it’s nice to celebrate yourself or someone special on this day, if you’re like most of us during this period, money is pretty tight.

So, maybe try something new this year and show your finances some love – whether you’re single or in a relationship. I know it’s the last thing on your mind, but this time of year is another opportunity for you to redefine or review your goals, budget and get started with investing.

So what can you do this Valentine’s Day? Here are a few ideas that may help:

Know Your Goals

Focus on what really matters to you!
What brings you happiness? Do you have something special to save up for? Are you planning that trip of a lifetime for when travel is back to normal? Writing down your intentions and having a firm goal can help to motivate you.

Setting or redefining your financial goal is the first step to getting your finances back on track. Your financial goal could be anything and having a monthly goal can help you to stick to your plan.

February is the month of love – be kind to yourself while you do this!

If you’re single:

Grab a glass of wine or juice, get yourself chocolates or your favourite snack, and write down your goals. Your goal could be as big as saving for a home or rent, a new car, new business or a vacation or as small as getting a new winter jacket, or even a pair of sneakers – write them down. These goals should include how much money you want to save and the timeframe that you want to do it in.

If you’re in a Relationship:

Set up a dinner at home or over video call and work on shared goals together. Ask each other basic money questions over dinner. Make sure to listen to your partner and be open to understanding each other. You can:

Talk about money histories
Share financial goals and how to achieve them
Do the simple money calculations and prioritise

Or ask Open-ended questions like:

What do you think your life will look like in 10 years?
Are you a Saver or Spender?
Are you in any debt?
How much money do you make?

Make sure to focus on how special you make each other feel.

Make A Budget

Make your relationship with money a priority and spend a bit of time getting to know yourself financially in a new way. You might see interesting things about where your money is going to and of course, where it is coming in from! With this, you can see where you can make a difference and avoid hiding from your finances.

A budget is very important, it shows you the reality of your financial situation and helps you plan a recovery if things are already crucial or shows room for improvement if you are just getting by. A budget helps you track your income and expenses and should always be paired with a financial goal.

If you’re single:

Identify your priorities before you start planning a budget.

Remember the 50/30/20% rule? It’s is a good way to budget your money: 50% goes to needs like housing and utilities, 30% goes to wants like your Netflix subscription, eating out – and a small emergency stash, and 20% goes to savings, investment and debt repayment.

If you’re in a Relationship:

Everyone chooses to spend their extra money differently, so asking this question to determine each other’s spending priority and ways to cope is very key.

However, you both need to be honest.

Relationships work well financially as long as there’s open and honest communication. If your partner is a spender, you can develop ways to help them deal with money by tracking and automating the finances while creating a realistic budget.

Here’s a link to a demo Budget sample I created on my Dropbox. Feel free to edit as needed. Fill the expense sheet and it will auto-populate to the budget.

Invest In Your Goals

Once you’ve identified your financial goals and established a spending plan, you know what you’re saving for and how much you’ll need to get there. The next goal is to invest – this is one of the best ways to watch you and your money grow.

When you invest, you put money aside for long-term goals such as Retirement, Education, Emigration, House purchase etc. The easiest way to do this is by having money automatically deducted from your bank account and then putting it into the investment option of your choice – mutual funds, bonds, stocks, etc.

If you’re single:

Investing doesn’t have to be scary – you can start investing with as low N10,000 or 15 pounds. It’s okay to get started even with small amounts of money.

Remember to invest in yourself first!

If you’re in a Relationship:

Depending on your financial goals, you can decide to invest on your own or as a couple. Whatever decision you end up with, make sure to watch out for one another and check in along the way to see how the money’s growing.