5 Financial Resolutions to Improve Your Cash Flow

By improving your cash flow — the money that comes in as income and goes out for expenses — you could end 2021 wealthier than you entered it. Here are a few ideas to get started.

1. Simplify
When your finances are simple and streamlined, it’s easier to stay on top of them — and easier to make improvements to your cash flow.

2. Earn more
Increasing the money coming into your household is one way to improve cash flow. Is there a way you could boost your income? Perhaps you could work some extra hours in your current job. Start a hobby side hustle or do a little moonlighting as an independent contractor. Or maybe you have unwanted items lying around that you could sell.

3. Trim creeping costs
Cutting costs is the other way to improve cash flow. An easy way to do it is to identify expenditures you can slash without missing out. For example, shop around for better rates on home and auto insurance and communications services (cable, internet, wireless). Get rid of subscriptions such as gym memberships, software or publications you no longer use.

4. Turn off temptations
It’s hard to save when the temptation to spend is all around you. If you’re a sale shopper, unsubscribe to retail emails. If you’re an impulse shopper, avoid the mall. If you’re spending too much ordering dinner, recycle the flyers and delete your home delivery apps to make it less a habit of convenience and more of a conscious choice.

5. Start saving
If you’re not saving, or not saving as much as you’d like, the fresh new year is a good time to start. Set a goal for the year and break it down into smaller goals. For example, if your goal is $1,500, that’s just $125 each month. Get competitive with yourself — or each other, if you’re a couple — and find ways to reduce expenses to reach each month’s goal.