New years is just around the corner! I’ve not been the best at keeping resolutions in the past. Turns out the way I was thinking about and setting them was really not the best way to go about it at all. I would generally set out at the new year with a list of bad habits that I was going to fix.. cold turkey, complete switch and all at once of course. Oh and I was going to do it during the most depressing, sun-less, cold, work-heavy time of year for me. I would set these intentions while beating myself up for having had the bad habit at all. I would also make it infinitely harder on myself by making the new plan as strict and inflexible as possible.. basically ensuring that I would not succeed. Fun times.
Turns out there are ways to do resolutions that work a whole lot better than that. Also turns out that goals and resolutions can be fun and motivating. Who knew? So while I am far from the expert on goal-setting or habit-changing, I do have some tips to help develop a financial new years resolution that can move you in the desired direction rather than leaving you more defeated than when you started.
- Make the goal specific and measurable. So instead of saying ‘I need to save money’ try ‘I will find $50 per week to put into a rainy day account’. Instead of ‘I want to be better at money’, try ‘I will commit to making and working with a budget by spending at least one hour every week focusing on it’
- Don’t be afraid to dream and change your own mindset a little. I have been wanting a new camera for quite a while. I have also been telling myself that I don’t have the money for a new camera for quite a while. I decided today that I absolutely can afford it. I just need to make a plan and start moving towards it.
- Have an end date in mind. For my new camera, I gave myself a timeline that I want to reach this goal by. I divided out the cost of the camera over that timeframe to come up with how much I need to save. Boom! Plan to make the new camera a reality for me and to get out of the sad suck story of ‘I can’t afford it’
- Write it down! Write it down a lot actually. I have a notebook that I write down my goals in every night. (Along with a short gratitude list. I stole this idea from Rachel Hollis. I highly recommend! This practice has been huge) I also write them as if they have already have happened. One of mine is that ‘I am debt free’. That daily reminder (which takes all of two minutes by the way) helps shift our minds into how to make that goal happen and we start living as though the goal is possible and attainable. Vision boards, screens on your phone, videos.. anything that helps keep that goal front and center will help in the motivation.
- Track your progress and celebrate wins! We tend to think of saving, or paying down debt or any other financial goal in terms of what we are giving up. A lot of the goals we might set for our money can seem incredibly big and daunting. They also involve delaying gratification which is not exactly sexy or fun in the moment. Set milestones along the way and relish in your progress towards the big goal. Reward yourself for a job well done to help reinforce the great habits you’re making. Remind yourself often of how far you have come. It will help keep you moving forward.
- Share your goal with supportive friends. Even better is to find some spaces and people who are working on similar goals. It is much easier to accomplish what you’re trying to do if you are swimming with the current instead of against it. Find people who will cheer you on and help you course correct when problems come up. It makes the world of difference. Let people help and support you all while adding in some very helpful accountability.
- Do it from a place of self love. Rather than looking at all the ways you don’t live up to your own standards and beating yourself up for it, try a more positive approach. Look at the future and what you want in it first. Let that vision inspire your new habits. Trying to make changes with an attitude of ‘I suck’ is not the most motivating or helpful headspace to be in. I promise you will get much further if you can cut yourself some slack for how you’ve done things up til now. While it is absolutely important to realize the habits we have that are keeping us from where we want to be, we do not need to live in that space. Learn the lesson and then keep your eyes on the vision of how you want things to be instead.
Today I set pen to paper and dreamed up some new goals for myself. I hope you can take some time over the next few days to make some dreams and plans for yourself and your money too. I killed a massive goal in 2021 that took me near a year and almost all my sanity to do. While I’m glad I took some time to relish in that one and to recoup, it’s time I set some new goals and a little easier pace to go with them. Big dreams can happen with little steps.
Lots of love
Dawn
Tax Wise 