Expert blog from Parkville Area Chamber of Commerce member, Kathy Ayers, of Wisdom 4 Life Coaching and My Coupon Academy…
The holidays have come and gone and the bills are rolling in. This can be an overwhelming time for folks, as the pile of debt seems to be get larger. However, January is a great time to focus on the coming year and to establish your 2012 financial goals. Here’s how to regain financial stability in 3 easy steps.
Step 1: SET CLEAR GOALS
The first part of January is always a buzz with people talking about resolutions. We prefer to set goals. The difference is that a goal has passion, purpose, and action behind it. A resolution stating you want to do better financially is meaningless. Your must set clear, measurable, and time sensitive goals such as:
- Pay cash for Christmas next year
- Pay off the car by June
- Get out of debt by December
- Establish a $1000 emergency fund by March
- Have a monthly budget meeting with my spouse
The key to this is to align your goals with your values and your priorities. Your goal has to be something that will propel you forward and that feels slightly ambitious.
Step 2: WRITE IT DOWN
You know the saying, “If it’s not on paper, it never happens.” It’s true; if you don’t plan it out on paper, it will NEVER HAPPEN for you. Unless you write your goal down and plan out the steps to get there, you only have an idea or a dream and “maybe someday it will happen.”
If you’re tired of having Christmas bills follow you into the New Year, the first thing to do is take assessment of what you spent this year on Christmas. You should consider both the direct and indirect costs. You have gifts, but think of everything else associated with your holiday traditions:
- Stocking Stuffers
- Christmas Cards
- Wrapping Paper
- Charities
- Extra Travel
- Extra Groceries for Baking, etc.
The more items that you consider, the more realistic your budget will be. Once you have come up with a total amount, simply divide by 12 and that is how much you need to set aside each month. You can also figure it up based on weeks or by paychecks.
Step 3: WORK THE PLAN
This can be the hardest of the three steps because it involves your behavior and determination. This is where your small decisions come into play. Seldom is it a single line item in a household budget that you can point to and say, “that’s where we went wrong.” It’s the small decisions we make day in and day out that add up and prevent us from achieving our financial goals.
Remember, this is a process that happens over time. Here’s the kicker…your plan won’t go according to plan! That’s ok. Don’t be discouraged. Make the necessary adjustments and move forward. You can do this. The application of these steps is the hardest part, but easy to do if you desire to gain great stability in 2012.
REGAIN FINANCIAL STABILITY AFTER THE HOLIDAYS BY SETTING CLEAR GOALS, WRITING THEM DOWN, AND WORKING YOUR PLAN.
Expert blog from Parkville Area Chamber of Commerce member, Kathy Ayers, of Wisdom 4 Life Coaching and My Coupon Academy…
