2020 financial planning checklist by Financial Bunny Nicolette Mashile

Nicolette Mashile aka The Financial Bunny shares a financial planning checklist for the upcoming year.

 

Mashile, known for her relatable and practical financial tips, states that planning for an upcoming year needs to be done before December because December is a month for resting. Amidst working on her book, that is set to be released in March 2020, she shares useful tips for the financially ambitious layman.

Summary:

1. Know your numbers – Know how much income you have coming in and how much of it is going out. Know your credit standing. Get your credit report and know where you stand because you can use credit in an uplifting way as opposed to damaging. If things don’t look good credit-wise, you need to research way to remedy your profile.

2. Know your income to debt ratio. Banks and lenders need people to borrow money, so use that to your advantage to negotiate your interest rate and shorten your terms. Do not have too many credit lines because each account has fees on top of the interest that you initially commit to. Thus, minimise your debt and try to ensure that the debt you incur is for the purpose of additional income, meaning it would pay itself back and you would get a profit out of it; E.g. getting a vehicle to transport people or goods for additional income.

3. Know your net-worth – we are all striving to improve our net-worth so that we may be financially free. To do this, we first need to determine our net-worth.

Net Worth = assets – liabilities

Asset examples: property (paid for, paid off or appreciated home loan in terms of value), cars (that you are using to make money), livestock, and actual money in your disposal / bank account/s.

Liabilities: Anything that consistently takes money from your account.

Knowing your financial situation covers step number 1.

 

Step number 2 is having 2 or 3 major financial goals that you’re working towards. Mashile states that it helps to know map your route when you have the bigger picture. Therefore you will have a better idea of the small financial decisions you need to make to reach each goal.

DO NOT make impulsive purchases or big purchases for gratification. Never believe it when told you can afford something you know very well is too big of a commitment for you.

Step number 3 is begin planning for big purchases such as property when you are still leasing or staying “at home.” Therefore, begin putting away the same amount of money you’d need for your bond (if bond costs are R3000 and you’re currently renting for R2000, begin putting away R1000 on top of your rent)  before committing to one, in order to see if you can handle it.

 

Lastly, never allow other people to put you under pressure to spend or show that you are financially self-sufficient. As your bank account grows, your  lifestyle will change by default, but make sure that the changes do not take you back.

In her video caption she lists the following checklist summary:

1. Know your numbers

2. Manage Financial shocks

3. Know your financial peak and off peak times

4. Learn to spend wisely

 

Watch the full video here, and hear what financial goals she has achieved: