Well, you know about my mistakes, but over the last year I have made some great progress. Here are some of my biggest accomplishments. Please list your own. I find them very motivational.
1. I stopped adding to my debt. Probably one of the best things I have done for my financial situation. I do not use credit cards anymore. I can’t say I have done this consistently for an entire year, but everyday gets me closer to that mark.
2. I cut up my credit cards. Obviously this is in direct relation to the first one. However, I can’t tell you how freeing it is to cut up your cards. We were dependent on them. We used them every month for things as necessary as groceries… but I don’t miss them. It has also lowered my stress level significantly because the option to use them is gone.
3. I found money. Yup, every month I was paying more than I needed to for things. I did this in several ways. I combined my cable, internet and phone service saving fifty dollars a month. I also changed my cell phone plan which was only supposed to save me ten dollars a month but it somehow turned into fifteen. I stopped contributing to a couple of savings plans in order to get my debt paid down faster.
4. I have never stopped contributing to my retirement for any reason. Technically I have been doing this for 8 years. That is my mandatory state retirement though. Two years ago when I graduated college and got a new job I began contributing to a 403b. I have not let anything keep me from doing that and I love opening that envelope every month and watching those numbers get bigger and bigger.
5. I just pay more attention. And, I think that can make all the difference in the world. I think about purchases now. I think about how much something is actually costing me in terms of how much I will use it and how much interest that money could be accruing in the bank. I analyze my accomplishments and my mistakes to see where I need work and where I am doing okay.
Please add your own accomplishments to this list. I know if you really think about it you have made some progress somewhere!!
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Friday, January 11, 2008
Friday, January 4, 2008
Resolutions vs. Goals... yeah I gotta weigh in too!
I have been reading a lot lately about resolutions for the new year vs. having actual goals. Is there even a difference? And, how does it relate to finances when things seem so tight?
Well, I agree with the consensus. Resolutions are basically those phrases you utter when everyone else is spouting out what they "plan" to accomplish in the new year. The problem is few get passed the resolution and to the planning phase.
The planning phase is when the resolution has the potential to become an actual goal. I recently sat down with my trusty notebook and came up with a revised plan for my emergency savings. I had not been saving like I should have. I needed to know how much money I had, how much more I needed and if it was even possible. I answered all of those questions and found out it was possible if I really buckled down.
I think this is one place where even goal setters mess up. A goal should not be carved in stone. It should be something that you are constantly updating and working with.
One thing I started doing last year that has worked really well for me was setting up some small notebooks for different purposes. I have one for my finances, one for journaling, and one for making lists and getting my to do's out of my head so I can think of other things. Not only do these help me keep records of what has happened in the past, that information can be used to further my goals and let me see when I messed up and possibly why. (Obviously December was not a big savings month for me. That is the only page in my entire notebook that is covered in writing, lol)
I also use these notebooks for motivation. I can look back and actually see what I have accomplished when I start feeling like I am not getting anywhere. That is a major problem with most goals. If they are too big, you don't notice progress. If they are too small you are always working on them and remaking them, etc.
So what are some good guidelines for making and accomplishing goals?
Don't set too many.
Make them measurable in some way. Finances are easy here.
Write them down.
Then don't worry about them constantly, but do what you can to work on them.
Put a time limit on them.
The last one can be touchy. If you don't accomplish a goal in a set amount of time have you failed? Only if you haven't made any progress. The purpose of a time limit is so that you can look at that goal again and make changes if they are needed. Had I not looked at my emergency plan I might have continued some of my bad habits that were zapping my savings.
So what are your thoughts on goals? Any tips for helping them stick?
Well, I agree with the consensus. Resolutions are basically those phrases you utter when everyone else is spouting out what they "plan" to accomplish in the new year. The problem is few get passed the resolution and to the planning phase.
The planning phase is when the resolution has the potential to become an actual goal. I recently sat down with my trusty notebook and came up with a revised plan for my emergency savings. I had not been saving like I should have. I needed to know how much money I had, how much more I needed and if it was even possible. I answered all of those questions and found out it was possible if I really buckled down.
I think this is one place where even goal setters mess up. A goal should not be carved in stone. It should be something that you are constantly updating and working with.
One thing I started doing last year that has worked really well for me was setting up some small notebooks for different purposes. I have one for my finances, one for journaling, and one for making lists and getting my to do's out of my head so I can think of other things. Not only do these help me keep records of what has happened in the past, that information can be used to further my goals and let me see when I messed up and possibly why. (Obviously December was not a big savings month for me. That is the only page in my entire notebook that is covered in writing, lol)
I also use these notebooks for motivation. I can look back and actually see what I have accomplished when I start feeling like I am not getting anywhere. That is a major problem with most goals. If they are too big, you don't notice progress. If they are too small you are always working on them and remaking them, etc.
So what are some good guidelines for making and accomplishing goals?
Don't set too many.
Make them measurable in some way. Finances are easy here.
Write them down.
Then don't worry about them constantly, but do what you can to work on them.
Put a time limit on them.
The last one can be touchy. If you don't accomplish a goal in a set amount of time have you failed? Only if you haven't made any progress. The purpose of a time limit is so that you can look at that goal again and make changes if they are needed. Had I not looked at my emergency plan I might have continued some of my bad habits that were zapping my savings.
So what are your thoughts on goals? Any tips for helping them stick?
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