Fox Blog | Fox Money Blueprint: How to restart financially

Fox Money Blueprint: A guide to building a winning relationship with money

How to take a financial inventory

Before we begin our journey in the Fox Money Blueprint and start setting financial goals, it’s important to first get an idea as to how you feel about your current money situation. Take the Financial Health Questions worksheet to learn more about how you currently spend, borrow, save and plan. After answering, spend some time reflecting to see what you might need to focus the most on.

We also invite you to take a little financial “inventory.” Let’s fill out a Personal Financial Statement (Net Worth Worksheet) to get a better understanding of what you own and owe. This is a great exercise to get an idea of how your assets (things you own) stack up against your liabilities (things you owe). We highly recommend doing this at least once per year.

Now that you have spent a little time reflecting on your current money situation, let’s get to the blueprint for your future financial success.

Create a vision for your finances

What does your future look like? Can you see it? If not, spend some time listing what you would like to accomplish in the future. This list can be long or short but feel free to dream. One way to do this is to create a vision board.

Set financial goals

Now it is time to get a little more specific. Let’s start identifying some short and long-term financial goals. We recommend choosing 3 financial goals to start with. Having short- and long-term goals can provide the encouragement you need to keep making progress. As you start to see progress in your savings goals, it can feel so rewarding! Here are some different examples of goals:

Short-term financial goals ideas

Build a $1000 emergency fund in 3-6 months.
Save $500 for a summer vacation.
Increase your credit score by 20 points in 6 months.
Reduce your grocery bill by 10% over the next 3 months.

Long-Term Goals Ideas

Build a fully funded emergency savings to cover 3 months of expenses.
Pay off all credit card debt in 3 years using the Debt Snowball method.
Boost your credit score to over 750 in 2 years.
Increase your 401k contribution to 15% in 5 years.

As you choose those goals, we recommend making them SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-based). This will help you not only achieve your goals faster but will help you see your progress. Check out the SMART goals worksheet.

Idea: Sticking to 3 goals will help you stay motivated and encouraged on your financial journey. You will also see progress faster working toward 3 financial goals vs. more. This way you will build momentum, see your progress and work towards achieving your goals.

What is the role of an accountability partner?

Working on your financial wellbeing can change your life in powerful ways. It’s very helpful to have someone help and encourage you along the way. Whether that person is a spouse, a good friend, or a financial coach at Fox, we all need someone who can encourage us and help us keep moving forward. Don’t take the next step until you have an accountability partner!

Fox Ripple Effect Financial Makeover Challenge

As you learn new skills with the Fox Money Blueprint, you can also follow two teams of Fox members and all that they are learning as part of the Fox Ripple Effect Makeover Challenge.

Fox Communities Credit Union launched this new event on April 2 and challenged two teams to reduce debut, build savings and improve their credit scores for chances to win cash prizes.

Each team works one-on-one with a Goodwill Financial and Debt Solutions Services personal finance coach to learn new skills and work towards their financial goals in this 6-month challenge. The team with the largest improvement in each of those 3 financial areas will receive a top prize of $5,000

Catch all the updates from the participants on Fox’s social media channels and blog!