Investing on weekends and tracking your net worth are important habits for building long-term wealth. Here are some tips to make the most of your spare time and monitor your finances:
– Use weekends to research investments – With more free time, you can read annual reports, analyze financial statements, and learn about new opportunities. This helps make informed decisions.
– Rebalance your portfolio – Rebalancing on a regular schedule forces you to buy low and sell high. Weekends are a good time to review your asset allocation.
– Pay down debts – Extra payments on loans, especially high interest debt, boost your net worth. Use weekend income for an extra principal payment.
– Start side hustles – Weekend time can be invested in side businesses. Freelancing, online sales, or part-time work generates additional income to save and invest.
– Review budget and expenses – Analyze spending patterns and look for places to save on weekends. Finding ways to cut monthly costs allows more money to go toward investments.
– Track net worth – Updating a net worth spreadsheet monthly or quarterly helps monitor financial progress. Doing this on a weekend makes it a consistent habit.
Researching investments builds knowledge for informed decisions
Spending time on weekends reading annual reports, researching companies, analyzing financial statements, and keeping up with financial news allows you to make informed investing decisions. With limited time during the workweek, weekends are the ideal time to dig deeper into potential opportunities and develop your overall investing knowledge. Being proactive about continuing your investing education leads to better long-term results.
Rebalancing forces disciplined buying low and selling high
Rebalancing your portfolio is an important habit for long-term investing success. Over time, market movements cause your asset allocation to drift from your targets. Rebalancing forces you to sell assets that have become overweighted and buy assets that have become underweighted. This imposes the discipline of buying low and selling high. Scheduling rebalancing for a specific weekend date makes it a consistent routine.
Paying down debt provides guaranteed returns
Reducing debt, especially high interest debt like credit cards, is a guaranteed way to increase net worth. Interest paid on debt is subtracted from investment returns. Any extra income on weekends can be applied toward paying down principal on loans. Even an extra $100 or $200 per month toward mortgage principal or student loans makes a difference long-term. The less debt you have, the more you can invest.
Side hustles generate extra income to invest
Side hustles and weekend gig work provide additional income that can be invested for the future. Options like freelancing, online sales, driving for a rideshare service, or a part-time job make productive use of spare time. The key is being disciplined about saving and investing this extra money rather than spending it. Automating transfers from side hustle income directly into investment accounts removes temptation to spend.
Analyzing spending uncovers opportunities to save
Monitoring expenses and analyzing spending patterns on weekends can uncover opportunities to save money during the month. Categories where spending exceeds reasonable targets present chances to cut back. Finding ways to save a few hundred dollars per month allows that money to be invested for the future rather than spent now. Be sure to review shared expenses for subscriptions, dining out, groceries, and other controllable costs.
Tracking net worth monitors financial progress
Regularly updating a net worth spreadsheet or using a net worth tracking app on weekends develops consistency. Technology makes this easy by linking accounts and automatically pulling in account balances and investment values. But diligently tracking the components of net worth – assets, debts, income, and expenses – improves awareness of your financial situation. Monitoring net worth monthly or quarterly highlights positive momentum while flagging areas needing attention.
Being purposeful with weekend time by researching investments, rebalancing, paying down debt, working side hustles, cutting expenses, and tracking net worth establishes habits to maximize assets for the future.