Let’s start the year with some accountability.
For almost everyone in business and marketing, the start of the business year (Q1) is when budgets are reviewed, approved, or revisited, and the ball is set in motion to execute strategic annual projects and other business priorities. As individuals, most often we start the year with New Year resolutions, and only a few of us take the time to allocate actual monetary figures to those priorities. The usual practice is to think of cost at the point of execution.

Financial planning whether as a business, a marketing unit, or an individual is all about proposing, planning, tracking, and staying accountable. It’s being able to say, “I don’t have the budget to execute this now, but I can reconsider it later in the year if new income opens up”. I mean, this happens a lot in marketing when reality meets ambitious goals. So why not adopt it as individuals?

Do you plan to take ten certifications in 2024? Great! What percentage of your income are you allocating to those? Do you have the money for ten certifications, or should you consider focusing on four so you can set up your other goals for equal success? What is the ROI for you? Keeping up with global peers, and increasing your future value to the tune of X? Overall, where does that leave your financial health? A good execution plan, a budget, and a clear charting of the ROI makes for better and easier execution.

For my financial tracking, my go-to is the Google Sheets. I use the Annual Budget Tracker template and I edit to fit my budget tracking needs. Monthly overheads, family, gifts, charity, learning and development, ‘enjoyment’, self-care, and wellness, all are allocated and budgeted for in my tracker. By tracking these, I’m able to catch leaks, overflows, and even areas where I might be underspending. And yes, I always leave room for a miscellaneous budget. Life does come with surprises, no? 

That Igbo saying, “Whenever a man wakes up, that’s his morning”? Well, here’s your cue to add figures to those annual plans, put your money where your plans are, and start tracking your spending. It’s morning!