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Man in business suit turns over the next year for better 2019 finances

2019 is right around the corner. That means it's time to start planning your financial life for the near future.

There are some very obvious and other not-so-obvious ways you can set yourself up for financial success next year. Let's check them out in this week's Atlas Credit blog!

1. Make an Assessment of This Year's Finances

Now that this year is finally drawing to a close, there's not much left to do but perform a review of how well you did overall financially. Did you make more money than you expected? Did you put aside a healthy amount of money in savings?

Did you create more debt for yourself?

Either way, you need a firm understanding of what happened to you this year to create a solid foundation for handling next year's finances. Check your credit score and see the overall trend, whether it went up or down. Check your bank statements and see if you handled your money correctly. By studying your financial performance in 2018, you should be better prepared for 2019.

2. List Your 2019 Financial Goals

This is a pretty simple step in understanding next year's finances. Take the time to list out all of the things you would like to achieve. Whether that's putting aside enough money in savings to develop a stronger emergency fund, finally saving up for a new vehicle, moving into a new place, getting a new job, or otherwise, the physical act of listing what you want to achieve makes those goals clearer.

That means every financial decision you make from the beginning of 2019 onward will be made with those goals in mind. Once you have listed them, you can always revisit them and check them off one by one as you accomplish your goals. This can be extremely rewarding. Try it!

3. Increase Your Savings if Possible

If you spent 2018 faithfully putting money away from each paycheck, or whenever possible, into a savings account, great! In 2019, one of the best steps you can take to ensure future financial success is to increase the amount you deposit into your savings every month.

You can also diversify your savings by creating more than one savings account. If you already have one account set aside that you treat as an emergency fund, once it reaches a number you feel comfortable at, create another account. This fund can be a vacation fund, a new car fund, or for anything else you feel like saving for.

4. Rethink Your Employment Situation

Have you been gainfully employed all year? How long have you actually worked at your current job?

The better question: when was the last time you got a raise?

If you've worked at the same hourly rate or salary for more than 6 months and are in good standing with your employer, it's time you started putting the pressure on them to increase your pay.

If they don't seem like they're willing to budge, start looking at your other employment options. Whether it's a similar line of work or a completely different industry, wherever you go next must offer you better pay or more benefits.

One of the smartest decisions you could make in 2019 is to stay up to date on the Atlas Credit blog! Each week we post a new informative and interesting blog to help our readers strengthen their financial situations. Remember, you can always apply online or in-store at one of our Longview or Houston locations for a quick and easy personal loan, even if you have bad credit at the end of 2018!

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