Tips for Planning Your Debts In 2025
2025 has already begun, so people are taking advantage of the opportunity to set new goals to meet in the new year. Experts advise that this is an ideal time to focus on improving financial health, which can be achieved by reviewing personal finances, organizing and properly planning expenses, with the aim of achieving goals and protecting yourself against uncertain situations.
This impacts your quality of life and also allows you to have a plan to meet short, medium and long-term goals. By making adequate financial planning, you can face unforeseen events with greater confidence and build a more stable future.
1. Evaluate the state of your financial health: The first step to organizing personal finances is to analyze the balance between income and expenses to determine if they are being managed properly. In this regard, experts recommend making a detailed list of monthly and annual expenses such as taxes, rent, insurance or tuition and, in this way, evaluate whether income adequately covers all commitments or if adjustments need to be made.
2. Build an effective budget: Once you identify your financial commitments, classify your expenses into categories to analyze their proportion in relation to your income. The expert suggests dividing them into five categories:
Fixed expenses (60%): housing, transportation, groceries, services, and credit payments.
Variable expenses (20%): generally associated with leisure, such as entertainment, clothing, and vacations.
Small expenses (5%): small daily expenses such as coffee or snacks
Unforeseen expenses (5%): funds for emergencies or unexpected expenses
Savings (10%): percentage to achieve medium- and long-term goals.
3. Use technology to constantly monitor your budget: Today there are mobile applications that allow you to manage your budget very easily, in which you can enter your daily expenses into personalized categories, assign a budget by category, and receive alerts when you are about to exceed the allocation you have determined. This will allow you to have greater control over your finances, make informed decisions, and build healthier financial habits.
4. Set realistic savings goals: Although the recommendation is to save 10% of your income, the most important thing is to start and be consistent, even with small amounts. By making monitoring your budget a habit, you can begin to manage your expenses effectively to gradually increase your savings goals. If you have a specific objective in mind, it is suggested to define a time frame and a monthly savings amount to be able to reach that goal. 5. Don’t ignore your debts: One of the most common mistakes is not evaluating the debts you have or want to acquire. Prioritize “good” debts, those that finance studies or income-generating projects; eliminate or limit “bad” debts, those that are acquired to finance assets that lose value quickly or that do not generate additional income. If you acquire a debt, define a payment strategy that fits your monthly cash flow to achieve good financial health. (SG)