How to Achieve Financial Success

Are you looking to get your financials in order? Are you trying to achieve financial success? Great! You’ve come to the right place as I will break down 5 steps to take with actionable tips to achieve your financial success.

I know how hard it is, previous to joining the financial industry, I felt the information to create a financial strategy was hard to find, especially in the Hispanic community. Nonetheless, I’ve gained all the knowledge necessary to not only create for myself but also to help others who are in the search for financial freedom. Do not be discouraged if it seems overwhelming and you are just starting on this journey, get these steps in your lifestyle one at a time and the journey will become easier. Let’s break it down into simple, actionable steps and transform our finances. Here’s how you can do it:

1. Know Where Your Money Goes

First things first, you need to understand where your money is going. It’s like trying to lose weight without knowing what you’re eating—almost impossible! Start by tracking your expenses. Use a handy app or just jot it down in a notebook. You’ll be amazed at how those small daily coffees or spontaneous online purchases add up. Once you see the patterns, it becomes easier to cut unnecessary spending and save more. I use multiple things all combined to help me monitor my money. I use an App called Empower, where I set my budget and can categorize how much of my income is being distributed to those categories.

Example of Categories:

• Bills: These will include, rent, utilities, phone bill, and car bill. Necessary things, in which you place a budget per month, week or day. It’s easier to track by monthly.
• Personal Expenses: These are mainly my wants such as How Much I want to spend shopping monthly, eating out, and entertainment ( All those subscriptions should be in this category )
• Savings: This category includes Sinking funds, or monthly savings, whether in a savings account, a high yield account or an investment account.
• Debt: This category I use to know how much debt I have and track how much money I am paying towards it every month. debt.

Actionable Tip:

Create a monthly budget with the above categories previously shared. List your income and expenses with as many details as you can provide. Allocate funds for necessities, savings, and some fun (because let’s be real, all work and no play isn’t sustainable). It’s a must to control your money to the penny, and some may say, no it’s not! But if you do, you will never waste money, instead, you’ll make it work for you.

I have a Digital budget sheet that I will link here, which you can purchase and download to track your expenses.

2. Save Before You Spend

One of the golden rules of financial success is paying yourself first. That means before you splurge on that new gadget or fancy dinner, put some money aside for your future. Whether it’s for an emergency fund, retirement, or a big goal like buying a house, saving should be a priority.

Now you ask, how much should I save? I’ve written another article, talking about the rule of 50/30/20 which guides you on the amount of savings you should allocate per month.

20% of your income should be always allocated to savings, the first thing to create with your savings is your emergency fund in which 3 to 6 months’ worth of your monthly expenses should be liquid and accessible to you in case of an emergency.

Actionable Tip:

Automate your savings. Set up an automatic transfer from your checking account to your savings account each month. This way, saving becomes effortless and you won’t be tempted to spend that money. This works wonders because you won’t miss what was never there.

A lot of people spend and never realize how much until they do the math, If you do the automated savings, it will be the same idea as automatic subscriptions, but instead of giving your money away, you’ll be growing it.

And one last tip, try to create a separate savings account, where you are not tempted to go check and use that money, and since you won’t be touching it, place it in a High-yield account. At least you’ll be gaining interest growth.

Here I list a few of my favourite High Yield Bank accounts.

Capital One: 360 Savings Account

Capital One

Ally Sinking Funds Account

Ally Bank

3. Make Your Money Work for You

Saving is fantastic, but investing is where the magic happens. Investing allows your money to grow over time through the power of compound interest. Compound Interest is your Holly grail for financial growth! You need to focus on not only saving money in the bank but also making a portion of that money work for you by investing. You don’t need to be a Wall Street whiz to start investing. These days, tons of resources and apps make it easy for beginners. Some of the easiest investing companies that you can easily set up your accounts with are, Fidelity Investments, Charles Schwab, Vanguard, Ally Investments, and more.

Actionable Tip:

Start with index funds or ETFs (Exchange-Traded Funds). They are less risky and offer good returns over the long term. You can even start with a small amount and gradually increase your investment as you get more comfortable. Those previously mentioned companies are some of the easiest to set up for individuals who want to take their investments into their own hands. At a basic, create a Personal brokerage account to buy Index Funds, ETFs, Stocks, Bonds Etc and a Traditional or ROTH IRA to Create your retirement accounts under Mutual Funds.

4. Continuously Educate Yourself

The financial world is always changing, and staying informed is key to making smart money decisions. This doesn’t mean you need to become a financial expert overnight. Just dedicate a little time each week to learn something new about personal finance. Read articles, listen to podcasts, or follow finance gurus on social media. I provide consistent information regarding finances and many other blogs do provide in-depth information that will help you grow in knowledge. The more you know the better decisions you will make when it comes to your money.

Actionable Tip:

Pick one personal finance book to read this month. A great starting point is “Rich Dad Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki or “The Total Money Makeover” by Dave Ramsey. One of my favourite books that I recommend is The Money Master: 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom by Tony Robbins.

They offer solid advice and can shift your mindset about money.

Financial success isn’t about making radical changes overnight. It’s about small, consistent actions that lead to big results. Track your spending, save before you splurge, invest wisely, and keep learning. Sounds easy but it’s not do not doubt yourself, you’ve got this!