12 Months, 12 Goals: Your Personal Finance Road Map for 2021

A new year means you have a host of new opportunities to improve your financial picture. And a good way to stay on track is to break your goals down month by month and tackle each one individually. Here are 12 financial objectives you should aim to achieve in the course of 2021.

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Having a budget will help you get a better handle on your finances so you can save money and avoid debt. At the start of the year, map out your expenses so you know how much you need to spend on essentials and how much you can afford to spend on extras. Your budget doesn’t have to be fancy -- a basic spreadsheet will do, or you can even go old school and jot it down on paper. Or, use a budgeting app to streamline the process.

Once you have your budget in place and know how much of your paychecks go toward essentials, it pays to arrange for a portion of your earnings to transfer automatically from your checking account to your savings account. That way, you won’t forget to make those important transfers happen.

It’s always a good idea to have money in an emergency fund -- ideally, enough to cover at least three months of living expenses. While you clearly can’t be expected to build a full emergency fund in a single month, you can aim to make a substantial deposit this month by cutting back on other expenses temporarily.

If you came away from the 2020 holiday season with debt, the sooner you make a plan to pay it off, the less interest you’re apt to rack up. Figure out how much you owe and how to pay it off efficiently. It could make sense to do a balance transfer to lower the interest rate on your existing debt, or take out a lower-interest personal loan to pay off your balances.

Saving for retirement is important, because your senior years aren’t going to pay for themselves. And the first step on that path is opening an IRA. If you’re able to put a little money into that account right away, even better.

Our credit card expert uses this card, and it could earn you $1,148 (seriously)
As long as you pay them off each month, credit cards are a no-brainer for savvy Americans. They protect against fraud far better than debit cards, help raise your credit score, and can put hundreds (or thousands!) of dollars in rewards back in your pocket each year.

But with so many cards out there, you need to choose wisely. This top-rated card offers the ability to pay 0% interest on purchases until late 2021, has some of the most generous cash back rewards we’ve ever seen (up to 5%!), and somehow still sports a $0 annual fee.

That’s why our expert – who has reviewed hundreds of cards – signed up for this one personally. Click here to get free access to our expert’s top pick.

Investing in the stock market can help you grow wealth, and you don’t need a ton of money to start out with. Many brokerage accounts have a $0 minimum, in fact, so get the ball rolling by finding an account that works for you.

Boosting your earnings is a great way to improve your financial picture. While you may not be eligible for a raise until the start of the new year, the midyear point is a good time to start working toward one by pushing yourself to learn new things and adding more value to your team.

The 2021 holiday season will be here before you know it. To avoid debt during it, start saving during the summer. Doing so could help you avoid a world of stress later on.

Is it possible to avoid spending money for an entire week? Now’s the time to find out. With a no-spend week, you incur no added expenses other than essentials. For example, you’re allowed to fill your car with gas to get to work, but a pit stop at the coffee shop you like to frequent is off the table. Having a no-spend week could work wonders for your savings. And if you find that it’s manageable, it’s something you can start to do every month.

Do you have the right health insurance in place? What about life insurance? If you work for a company that offers these benefits, now’s the time to pay attention to the coverage you have and compare it to the coverage you need so you can make the right elections during your employer’s open enrollment, which typically happens around now.

Our credit card expert uses this card, and it could earn you $1,148 (seriously)
As long as you pay them off each month, credit cards are a no-brainer for savvy Americans. They protect against fraud far better than debit cards, help raise your credit score, and can put hundreds (or thousands!) of dollars in rewards back in your pocket each year.

But with so many cards out there, you need to choose wisely. This top-rated card offers the ability to pay 0% interest on purchases until late 2021, has some of the most generous cash back rewards we’ve ever seen (up to 5%!), and somehow still sports a $0 annual fee.

That’s why our expert – who has reviewed hundreds of cards – signed up for this one personally. Click here to get free access to our expert’s top pick.

With the holidays approaching, November is a good time to establish a budget that incorporates the various expenses you might face, like travel, gifts, and decor. It’s also a good time to start researching deals if there are big-ticket items you’re planning to buy.

You may not have to file your 2021 taxes until April of 2022, but if you want to lower them, take the opportunity to make some strategic last-minute moves. These could include giving more money to charity, racking up a few extra business expenses to write off, or even pumping a little more money into a tax-advantaged savings plan, like an IRA or a health savings account (HSA).

With 2020 coming to a close, now’s the time to look toward the new year and hope for financial success. Meeting these 12 goals will help you close out 2021 in a much stronger place so you can kick off 2022 with a bang.