How To Start Your Personal Finance Journey?

Talking about money is usually a taboo topic. But on this site, I also want to dive into finances. It took me a while before I started my personal finance journey as I love to spend my money to travel and shop. I would sometimes send money back to my family in the Philippines to help them financially. Honestly, I don’t have any savings or an emergency fund. Whenever I spend my money, I always tell myself I deserve it since I worked so hard. But as I get older, I notice that I need to start thinking about my future. I work with the senior population, and most are struggling financially. They are partly why I want to start thinking about how I deal with my finances, as they would sometimes give me pieces of advice. Starting personal finance can be daunting, but taking control of your finances is essential to achieve your goals. Here are some steps to get started with personal finance, which I am also doing right now:

1. Set financial goals: Determine what your financial goals are. It can include short-term goals like paying off debt or saving for a vacation and long-term goals like retirement planning or buying a home. Right now, my financial goal is to have $0 debt. 
2. Create a budget: Make a list of your income and expenses, and create a budget that allows you to live within your means while meeting your financial goals. This part is hard for me because I am currently living paycheck to paycheck, but this is a working progress.
3. Track your spending: Keep track of your spending by recording your purchases in a spreadsheet or using a personal finance app. It will help you identify areas where you can cut back and save money. In my case, I created a spreadsheet to know how much money is coming in per month and all my expenses. 
4. Build an emergency fund: It’s essential to have an emergency fund in case unexpected expenses arise. Aim to save three to six months’ living expenses in a separate savings account. This is another part of my personal finance journey that I am still struggling to do. Right now, I am using my credit cards as my emergency fund. Once I have cleared all my debt, I will start saving money in case of emergency. 
5. Start investing: Consider investing in a retirement account, such as a 401(k) or IRA, or other investment vehicles to help grow your wealth over time. Fortunately, I started investing and opened Robinhood, Vanguard, and Fidelity accounts, but I need more knowledge, so I know it is not enough. As time passes, I will definitely learn more about investing as well.
6. Review and adjust your finances regularly: Stay on track with your financial goals. Adjust your budget and investment strategy as needed. 

Personal finance is a lifelong journey; staying committed and disciplined is vital to achieving financial success. I hope whoever reads this post has a better financial journey than me, but if we are on the same track, don’t worry! We got this! Awareness is one of the first steps, and then we can start working on it to be on top of our finances.  

How about you? Do you agree with what I have written? If not, why? What is your personal finance journey look like? What are your experiences so you can be on top of your finances? Kindly share it in the comment section below!

Thank you for reading! Continue to adapt to change and enjoy life!