10 Things to do Differently With Your Money in 2024

Planning is so important to facilitate wealth building and financial freedom. When you can sit down and say “this is the plan for 2024” and you can have the plans written out on paper, that’s when you will see the game changing wealth and money moves. 

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Today we’re going to give you 10 things to do differently with your money in 2024 that will change the game for you as far as financial freedom, wealth building, and abundance.

Unite your Financial Vision in Your Relationship

Get on the same page with whoever you’re in a relationship with, whether you’re married, dating, or in a serious relationship, you need to unite your financial vision between the two of you. It becomes incredibly hard to eliminate your debt if you’re not on the same page with your significant other - you have to find a way to have a conversation surrounding your financial situation and to be aligned in your goals. 

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You cannot have one vision with two separate directions, so there is an important conversation that needs to happen on what is the strategy for your family. This needs to be honest communication from the very beginning of the relationship. Where are you going? What are you doing? Are you guys going in the same direction? These are important questions to ask from the get-go. 

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We have a great resource, The Guide To Asking Hard Questions, that will help you have this conversation with your significant other in a way that doesn’t come off as seemingly like a gold digger or coming off disrespectful. Your future depends on being on the same page with whoever you’re doing life with, as a couple your future depends on having this conversation. 

You have to Start Paying Off Your Debt 

Debt hinders your ability to experience financial freedom and grow and evolve yourself. When you’re drowning in debt it robs you of your financial future, and it robs you of the opportunity that can progress you moving forward. 

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If you didn’t have debt, what would your life be like today? Visualize what your life would be like right now if you didn’t have to pay back loans and credit card debt and you had an extra $3,000 in your pocket. The world has made us feel like debt is normal and it’s a part of life, but a lot of you have allowed the world to program your brains to think this - it’s not normal. 

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The truth is you need good financial resources and money, to do that you need to establish the strategy. You can use the debt calculator I created to show you with the income you have, the debt you have, etc. how to get out of debt. It’s possible to get out of debt sooner than you think, if you really sit down and establish your strategy to become debt free. 

Master Your Budget

If you give yourself three months straight of sticking to a budget, where you are listing out every single thing that you’re spending your money on and all of the income you have coming in, by the end of it you should have $0. 

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This is zero-based budgeting, where you’re accounting for every single dollar - this doesn’t mean you have $0 to spend on things, but you’ve already set aside money towards your bills, investments, savings, tithing, and shopping, so by the end of your budget you’ve account for every dollar you have coming in. You can use tools like the Every Dollar App and the wealth builder tool I created, to master your budget and stick to it. Stop letting your money tell you what to do, and start telling your money what it needs to do. 

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When I say master your budget, I need you to check your budget before you check your bank account. The thing about your bank account is, pending transactions that haven’t come out yet will skew your idea of how much money you actually have. This can get you in trouble when it comes to spending money, pending transactions significantly skew how much you actually have available. 

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When you master your budget, you’re telling your money what to do instead of your bank account telling you what to do. Creating and sticking to a budget is a game changer to your finances.

Get Proper Insurance 

It is easy to overspend on insurance, and this is something that insurance companies are very aware of. It’s important to take the time and shop around to make sure you have the right insurance that will keep you protected but not force you to overspend where you don’t need to. 

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Within the next few months, you should go look at all your insurance policies and make sure that you have the best quote on everything - car insurance, health insurance, vision insurance, home insurance, etc. Make sure you have everything covered and it’s the best rate possible. 

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The biggest insurance coverage you need to make sure you have is a life insurance policy and this type of policy is something most people overlook. Without a life insurance policy, if something happens to you, it can cause repercussions for your loved ones. 

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Let me be clear, it does not matter what age you are - if you’re 22 with no kids, or 50 with grown kids, you need to have a life insurance policy that covers your family’s future. Etho’s is a great resource to look into, that will help make sure you and your family’s future is secure. 

Maximize your Emergency Funds

Don’t let your money sit inside a regular bank account giving you 0.5% interest, you need to be putting at least 1 month savings inside a high yield savings account as your emergency fund. I want you to be putting 1 month of your salary into a savings account that will grow with a high interest rate, and then if something happens and you lose your job, you have yourself covered in an emergency. A credit card is not an emergency fund, it needs to be a savings account. 

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High yield savings accounts, like SoFi which gives you 4.5% interest, is a way to grow your emergency fund and make sure you’re covered when life happens. When you maximize your emergency fund into a high yield savings account, and not touch it unless something happens, you’re letting the interest compound and grow that money. 

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Start putting at least 1 month of your take-home monthly income, which allows you to live your normal life for at least 1 month while you get other things figured out. If you lose your job, you have 1 month to figure out how to come back, and you’re back on track. Stop letting your money just sit in a regular bank account that isn’t going to grow for you until you need it. 

Launch Your Dream

Stop helping others launch their dreams and putting your dreams on the back burner. At your 9-5 be the best employee you can be, and when you come home, you work for you and your dream. When you come home from that job, what are you doing to work on something you enjoy and that will help your family. 

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The tax strategy was not created for W2 employees, it was created for entrepreneurs and business owners. So, if you are a W2 employee, what are you doing when you come home that you 100% own - not them, you and your family. This is how people who make $50k to $60k are actually able to build wealth, because they’re using the strategies of tax write offs. 

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One of the key things you need to be doing is starting a business that you own, that will build wealth for you and your family. No matter how hard you work for someone else, you won’t be able to provide for your family the way the owner of that business does for their family, you need to build something for yourself and your loved ones that YOU own. 

Cultivate Contentment 

If you’re never content with where God has you in your life, you’re always going to be frustrated and making bad decisions. The moment you can say you’re okay with where you are and you’re at peace, you’re going to do great things for yourself and your finances. 

All these people that you’re trying to keep up with and trying to impress, will not be there for you when you’re struggling - you need to be content with where you are and at peace with where you are. The caliber of your financial future will be determined by the caliber of the financial decisions that you make now.

Reject the Compassion Trap 

You cannot compare your success and your journey to someone else's. This ties right back into the last one of being content with where you are. Comparing your success and your journey to that of others will lead you to making poor financial decisions and stop you from achieving your financial freedom. 

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It’s easy to compare yourself to those you see around you who are seemingly doing better, but you don’t know what’s going on in their lives behind closed doors - focus on yourself, your success, and your journey and be content with where you are. Focus on your growth and your evolution. 

Invest Into Your First Home 

Real estate is a wealth game, and you need to invest into your first home. One of my biggest goals is to get more minorities into home ownership, and home ownership is a part of your net worth.

I want you to have something to pass down to your loved ones, start looking into the steps you need to take to become a homeowner. Even if you may not get your first home this year, start taking the necessary steps to invest into your first home. 

Align Your Finances With The Word of God

The word of God needs to be your navigation system when it comes to your finances. If it’s not aligned, then you do not need to be doing it. It’s my navigation system for finances and I don’t care where you are right now, if you took a left turn, right turn, or wrong turn, God has already rerouted you and you just have to read the reroute. 

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Following the word of God when it comes to your finances, is going to be imperative to your financial success. 

Let’s Recap

We talked about 10 things you need to do differently with your money in order to grow and build your financial future. You need to ensure your finances are aligned with the word of god and use the word as your navigation system. Invest into your first home and start making the necessary changes and taking the right steps to get there. Stop comparing yourself to others and their journey and instead learn to cultivate being content with where you are and where God has you in life. 

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Launch your dream and make sure you’re building something that you and your family own to create a financial future that you can pass down to your loved ones. Be a great employee, but also work on something that you own to build wealth. Maximize your emergency fund, get the right insurance and make sure you’re not overpaying, become a master of your budget, pay off your debt, and unite your financial vision with whoever you’re doing life with. 

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If you start to implement these 10 things, you’re going to create such a bright financial future for yourself and your family. 

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