Is it time for a reset? Have you been thinking about making some changes for the better, but you’re waiting for that last 'push'? Many of us know that we want to transform our lives, particularly when it comes to personal finances, but not all of us know how to begin. And, while it can feel impossible, creating a life that you love requires taking small steps. Let's have a look at how you can start changing your life for the better and reaching your goals.

Decide what success means to you

Everybody has their own definition of successes, based on all the things they've wanted to achieve. For some people, success means retiring before 60 and living a carefree life. For others, it means being able to make a difference in the lives of other people. If you want to be successful, you have to decide what success looks like to you. Then you can plan how you will attain it.

Change your mindset

They say that the most successful people – the Richard Bransons and Elon Musks of the world – have something in common: a positive mindset. The way that you think and talk to yourself is a huge deciding factor in whether you reach your goals or not. Millionaires, or people who have reached the success they pictured for themselves, believe in themselves, believe in their own abilities, and believe that they deserve financial freedom.

This mindset makes it easier to motivate yourself and tell yourself that you can achieve the goals you set out to achieve. One of the ways you can build a positive mindset is to spend your time with people who have the same or similar goals as you.  Not only is positivity contagious, but you could learn a lot from your like-minded peers.

Make sacrifices

One of the challenges you'll face on your journey to transformation is making sacrifices. In particular, if your goal is to transform your finances, you'll definitely have to make a few sacrifices to free up your budget.

Start by ditching small purchases that you can do without: morning coffee on the way to work, lunch that you could make at home, Friday night dinner which you could also cook at home. Giving up these things is hard, but it has long-term benefits and will save you hundreds of Rand!

Automate your finances

Use the tools at your disposal to help you make these changes. Today, your banking app can help you automate transfers into your savings account, so there’s no excuse not to save a few Rand every month.

Are you tempted to spend more when shopping with your credit card? Why don't you lower your POS limit on your banking app? Need to pay your rent before month end? Start the transfer on your bank's app. Procrastinating is a big motivation killer. But, doing things digitally makes it easier to get these things done. You should definitely take advantage of them.