Was ringing in the New Year something special for you this year? Did any resolution resonate with you? I sat down the Monday before New Year’s Day to reflect on what I wanted from 2010. With that in mind, I tried to make resolutions for this year and realized I couldn’t because the whole “resolution idea” just didn’t work. felt “real” to me, and I feel like a lot of you probably feel the same way. Personally, in my nearly 5 decades on earth, I have never reached a single resolution with the intention stated at the beginning of the year. After much soul searching, three nights to be exact, my big “ah ha” was that I didn’t want to decide to hit a list of goals, I wanted to approach my life differently.
2010 for me is going to be all about getting real. 2010 is going to be a big year for me: I’m launching a new company, I’m determined to live my dream, and I’m turning 50! Yeah…now you know my age, but that’s all part of my plan for 2010. I’ve always confessed to being a holistic financial planner, but as an entrepreneur, it was hard to follow my own advice. Or at least I thought so. Chalk it up to “growing up,” but it became clear that with a few adjustments to my current lifestyle, I would be able to live my dream and achieve many of my personal and financial goals naturally, while becoming a “real” mentor to my clients and followers to imitate. So here is my “Get Real in 2010” plan. Feel free to adopt and modify if it excites you.
Step one: Do a personal audit on spending habits and make them lean and mean again. Commit to 30 days of intense honesty in the expense department.
Second step: Based on the results of the 30-day expense audit, create a cash flow statement so you can see how much discretionary income you really have.
Step three: With “real” numbers to work with, create a budget that is challenging and rewarding for both business and lifestyle. This is a necessary step to monitor success. This is where you cancel unread subscriptions, gym memberships you never use, etc. and then update your cash flow statement for an accurate view of your revised discretionary income.
Step four: Prepare a balance sheet so you can see where you currently stand financially. Set goals that address debt elimination, wealth aggregation, and charitable giving for the year. Quarterly monitoring.
Step five: Learn and use the principles of TVM (time value of money). For example, take the time to work out the numbers for retirement planning or think about the opportunity cost of buying a “wish” or a little more “wish” before spending freely. Remember to keep your goals close to help stay in line with your “real” financial plans and accelerate your success instead of sabotaging it.
Step Six: Address the “WAM factor” or “what about me” facet to successfully achieve financial goals. We all know that financial matters can be so stressful that ignoring them completely becomes a habit that many adopt. By addressing the WAM factor, money matters become more of a game than a nightmare. Keeping your emotional self engaged and excited will be easier if you check in more often and actively, and actively emphasize! Drive away your little demons with some physical activity: walk the dog (or yourself) and enjoy your surroundings. If you think there is nothing to enjoy, look again. Sometimes it’s that little flower that finds its way through the cracks in the sidewalk that makes my day.
Small rewards that do not involve spending money and investing in your well-being they are a great way to successfully play the game and build sustainable momentum.
That’s it. I’m getting real in 2010 and I’ll take my own advice and do these six steps. Join me, follow me, share your feedback or whatever you want to improve your financial health and wealth now! And may a purposeful and fulfilling 2010 bring the health, wealth, and happiness we all seek in abundance!