Get Specific, Get Positive, Get Personal

Well, Christmas has come and gone, 2019 is drawing to a close and New Year’s Day (and new resolutions) are right around the corner. Approximately one-third of the resolution-making population sets their sights on saving more and spending less. It’s a great idea, right? Unfortunately, 80% of those resolutions will fail. According to Business Insider, there are three reasons behind this:

The resolution is not clear enough
The resolution uses negative language
The resolution is not personally meaningful

If you REALLY want to work on becoming financially independent in 2020 and want to set a resolution to do so, try this:

I am only using funds I have to make purchases this year. I am getting organized. I am implementing an easy-to-follow debt-reduction strategy.

(And we’re going to help you with that!)

This resolution is clear. This resolution is set using positive language that describes what you ARE doing, not what you’re going to do (a good mind trick), and if you REALLY want to work hard on financial independence, it IS personally meaningful to you.

We are doing this together.

Comments

Books Equal Bucks

In November PBS always hosts their Annual Reading Marathon . “Wow. That’s the second time this month that our financial blogger has gone off the rails regarding blog topics. What does reading have to do with finances?” My answer? Everything. Establishing good reading habits in children–reading 20 minutes a day–can literally change their financial future. Good readers do better in school. Good readers are more likely to graduate from high school. Good readers will probably make more money as adults. Reading changes EVERYTHING . That being said, books can be expensive, but they don’t have to be. Libraries are some of the best resources for book access–they play SUCH an important role in our community. You can also share/trade books with your neighbors, friends, and family members (just make sure you have a good system for tracking book ownership). Second-hand stores or garage sales are awesome places to s...

Bon Voyage

Many of you are aware that I like to travel. I’ve had the pleasure of visiting a few foreign countries and taking a handful of cruises, and I intend to do more in the not-to-distant future. Because you know me, you know I don’t finance these trips–I plan ahead and save for them. And if you’ve followed my blog for a while, you are also aware that I do use one credit card for which I earn flight miles, and I use this card on the trips where I see the world. There is one thing about my credit card for which I am especially grateful–whenever there is suspicious activity on my account, I get a text notification. The credit card company recognizes that charges abroad MIGHT NOT BE LEGIT, and they send me a message. All I have to do is confirm that it is, in fact, me that made the peculiar purchase, and I’m good to go. If I did not make the purchase, I respond in kind, and my card is deactivated. Note to self and others: one could avoid these potential interruptions if one calls credit car...

The Marshmallow Experiment

In 1972, Stanford did a study about delayed gratification with children. It involved giant marshmallows and testing their patience. You can see a short YouTube video about the study here . Basically, the kids who could sit alone with a giant marshmallow without eating it for a certain length of time were rewarded with a second giant marshmallow. Fun, huh? Some kids could be patient and reap the rewards; some could not. I was a small child when the study was conducted, and I wonder which side I might have been on. I HAVE learned to be pretty patient as an adult. One of the areas in which I’ve seen improvement is in finances. I have become a good money manager–I could be paid once annually and budget so that I won’t run out before year’s end, including having enough money to pay my own quarterly taxes–self-employed people do that. Speaking of taxes, I try not to overpay so that I qualify for a “refund,” because the government does not practice The Marshmallow Experiment. Huh? ...

Search This Blog