Five ways to boost your wealth in 2020

It’s only halfway through the first month of the year and already, new year’s resolutions are dropping like flies.

Losing a few kilos, spending less or trying to get ahead financially are just a few popular choices when it comes to goals.

But little do most know that a few minor changes can really make the start of the decade a year to remember, particularly when it comes to boosting your wealth.

There are numerous ways to maximise your wealth.Credit: Jessica Shapiro

1. Know how much goes down the drain

Doing the numbers on how much you’re spending is the first step to building your wealth. Most people forget about the discretionary spending and just count the big bills, but this is misleading.

Gifts, cash spending and coffees add up. Knowing what you spend and where you spend it is the key to managing your week to week cashflow and will give you an indication of what you can save each week or what you should be cutting down on.

2. Automate your saving plan

Once you know how much you’re spending, you can put your excess pay straight into savings and start building wealth.

Make it an automatic savings plan where it sweeps your account without your having to do anything.

You can even start by investing in more growth-style investments such as shares.=

3. Avoid debts

If you have credit card debt or personal loans, reducing these should be your focus. Minimum repayments aren’t enough if you want to avoid hefty interest charges.

Look at ways that you can cut expenses and instead focus on paying off your most expensive debt first.

4. Check your nest egg

Superannuation is a great savings tool and warrants its own mention. You can get tax benefits by salary sacrificing but there are plenty of other government incentives that can greatly boost the amount you’ll receive come retirement.

Consolidating your super into one fund is an additional step that will generally save on administration fees and add up in the long run but do all your checks before rolling as you may have insurance or other benefits attached to your fund.

5. Show me the money

You don’t have to be the biggest earner to get ahead but the more you earn, the more capacity you should have to save.

If you really want to get ahead, try upskilling to take advantage of new opportunities.

Taking a second job is another way to increase your earning. Thanks to the gig economy, there are numerous online platforms that allow you to provide simple services to customers in your own time and online.

With the start of the decade, it is a great chance to look again at your finances, introduce a few new strategies and, with some focus, 2020 can be a great year for you and your wealth.

Why not increase the financial savviness of those around you – pay it forward and pass on these tips to your family, friends and kids.

Olivia Maragna is the co-founder of Aspire Retire Financial Services and is a respected financial expert. Olivia’s advice is general in nature and readers should seek their own professional advice before making any financial decisions.

You can follow Olivia on Facebook or Twitter.