Get on the fast track, put your pedal to the metal, take the inside lane to success. What’s not to love about this concept? Fast tracking is, as its definition tells us, “A route, course or method that allows for more rapid results than usual”. It means to accelerate your progress and development.
Sounds good; let’s explore how we can learn the skills of a fast tracker in order to implement this concept in our personal finances this National Savings Month.
To be a successful “fast tracker” you need to be a self-starter – someone who always looks for opportunities and then uses them to their full potential. Zig Ziglar, is famous for saying “You don’t have to be great to start but you have to start to be great”. In essence this means that you have to make a conscious decision to want to fast track your finances. If you have taken the decision to read this newsletter that is a step in the right direction. Well done! Now ask yourself if you are really committed to change.
In order to fast track your personal finances, you need to ask yourself what your current financial situation looks like. Complete your budget and find out whether your budget is profitable – meaning that you have money left over each month or do you spend what you earn, or are you able to save? Once you know the answer to this, you can then ask yourself what areas of your finances you want to change or fast track.
Once you have completed your budget then move onto understanding your debt profile, this is a simple exercise of listing your debt and finding out exactly how much you owe and to whom, and what interest rates you are currently paying – we have attached a debt snapshot for you to use as part of the budget. The average South African income to debt ratio is 74% – and our experience as financial coaches usually indicates that if people had less debt they would feel less stressed and more in control of their finances. Perhaps your fast tracking goal should be to reduce your debt – the Interface R200 plan is a tried and tested way to do this.
On the other hand perhaps your goal is to save. As it is National Savings Month now is an excellent time to get started. You can use some of these fast tracking tips in order to fast track your savings plan.
5 Simple fast track tips to remember:
- Work hard: In order to succeed in your financial fast track you need to work on your finances and be willing to put in effort in order to achieve great results.
- Take credit for work well done: If you have achieved a financial change, celebrate your success and be proud of your achievement.
- Look to the future: When it comes to fast tracking your finances it is important to think about your long term financial future. Ask yourself how many years you have until retirement and if you have a savings plan in place that will enable you to retire.
- Use a financial coach or mentor: the role of a financial coach is to help you define your current financial picture and assist you in defining your financial goals. A financial coach can assist you in reaching your financial goals. Your company offers you access to free financial coaching – it”s a no-brainer to use the service. Simply click here to access financial coaching
- Monitor your progress: On a monthly basis check in and explore how this month’s spending and financial situation compares with the past month. Ask yourself what your financial situation was like in July 2016 compared to July 2017. Are you in a better or worse off position? If you are not improving on a monthly or annual basis ask yourself why? What is holding you back from achieving your financial goals?
Fast tracking, what a truly awesome concept that you can tap into in order to accelerate your progress and success in your personal financial life.