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How to Keep Up With Your Resolutions

January 15, 2021 | Leave a Comment

A lot of people spent time reflecting on last year and setting fantastic goals for 2021. While we didn’t set any hardcore New Year’s resolutions this year, many people still did. The biggest triumph of all though is being able to stick to your plans and reach those goals throughout the year. Below are a few tips on how to keep up with your resolutions (even when you lose steam).

Setting Reasonable Goals

First and foremost, it is key to set reasonable goals for yourself. If your aspirations are too lofty, you may wind up running out of enthusiasm early on. Instead, focus on more obtainable, smaller goals that will help you reach longer-term aspirations that you may have.

When setting personal goals, it is important to have a “big picture” in mind. For instance, if you are setting a debt payoff goal for the year, think about all of your financial goals, not just your debt freedom. If you want to invest, save money, and buy a home, be sure to include those things in your planning too. Be sure you are setting reasonable goals for yourself within the grand scheme of things.

Another thing many people suggest is setting SMART Goals for yourself. We discussed SMART Goals on the blog a while back, you can read more about them here. SMART Goals can help you hone in on the specifics of what you’d like to accomplish, when, and how.

Tips to Keep Up With Your Resolutions

If you find you have trouble trying to keep up with your resolutions, you’re not alone. A lot of people abandon those dreams by the end of January (seriously). However, there are a few tips you can consider to help better set you up for success.

Keep your goals specific. As mentioned above, the more specific you are in your goal-setting, the more likely you will be to reach them.
Make exact plans as to how you will accomplish it. You won’t reach your goals if you don’t have a plan of action.
Plan for how you will cope and learn triggers. Much of the time, resolutions are about resolving bad behaviors. You should learn your triggers (i.e. spending triggers) and figure out how to cope without giving up focus.
Replace bad habits with good ones. If you are an overspender, become an over-saver.

Last but not least, pick a change you actually want to make. Many people spend time trying to reach goals they don’t truly desire. For example, people strive to live healthier lives and at the beginning of each year commit to exercising every day. That isn’t something most people want to do. Instead, you can find ways to live a healthier lifestyle (i.e. make time for outdoor activities and eat better).

No matter what, it is important not to lose faith in your goals and aspirations. Everything takes time, especially when it comes to lifelong goals. Be patient with yourself.

How Do You Create Reasonable Resolutions?

January 2, 2020 | Leave a Comment

It’s that time of year again when people vow to be better than they were throughout the previous year. I, for one, am a fan of New Year’s resolutions for a number of reasons. The main reason I love the idea of resolving to do better is it gives everyone a fresh, positive outlook. As I’ve mentioned in the past, remaining positive has brought me a long way.

However, many people set goals and make resolutions that are simply not reasonable. For instance, if you have a lot of debt and little-to-no savings, it is unlikely that you will (or should) own a house by the end of the year. So, how do you go about creating reasonable resolutions?

My New Year’s Resolutions

As you can see above, most of my resolutions have nothing to do with our finances (and that’s okay). Cutting our debt in half this year would be a HUGE deal for us and it is totally obtainable.

The other resolutions I’ve listed here are small but extremely important for me to maintain balance. First, my goal of “hustling more” will help us achieve our debt payoff goals. The more money we bring in this year, the more debts we can pay off. Next, self-care and health goals are always on my list. If you don’t invest in yourself (time or money), you won’t have anything to offer anyone else. This includes writing and reading more (for fun). Lastly, my husband and I have been slowly but surely learning German. I’d like to be fluent by the end of the year.

Unfortunately, most people stop trying to obtain their goals by the end of February (if they last that long). That’s usually because they’ve established these huge goals that are overwhelming, instead of breaking it down into smaller, easier tasks.

How to Create Reasonable Resolutions

So, how do you go about creating reasonable resolutions and goals for yourself? Well, first you should read up about SMART goal setting. This method of writing down and setting goals for yourself helps you create smaller tasks and organized your path to success. Here’s a quick breakdown of the process…

Specific: Have a specific goal in mind. Instead of saying, “I’d like to be thinner by the end of the year,” say, “I’d like to reach 165 pounds by the end of the year.”
Measurable: Be sure all of your goals are measurable in some way. As I mentioned above, we want to pay off half of our debt. This is measurable and specific.
Achievable: This goes back to choosing goals that make sense for you to reach within a year (or whatever period of time you’ve set). Consider what is keeping you from that goal now and plan for changes you may need to make. Then assess whether or not it is actually achievable, making those changes as needed.
Relevant: You always need to be sure the smaller goals you’re looking to reach make sense in the long-run. If you have a five-year plan, for instance, you should be sure you have goals this year to help you get there.
Time-based: Once you decide on your goals, be sure you outline a timeframe in which you’d like to have it done. For example, to reach my end-of-year weight goal, I’ll need to lose X amount of pounds per month. Then check-in and see if you’re on track every three months, month, week, whatever works for you.

You should also realize that, sometimes, life gets in the way of things. Don’t be too hard on yourself! If you run into problems when you’re attempting to reach your goals, take a step back and assess whether or not you have been specific enough in naming what you want to achieve.

What Do You Do When You’ve Have a Great Year?

January 2, 2018 | 3 Comments

how to maintain momentum in the new year

It is that time of year again where many of your friends and family will resolve to change themselves for the better. The “new year, new me” vibe isn’t anything new. In fact, many people have become cynical of resolutions altogether. While I see how that could be easy to do, resolving to better yourself, or setting goals, is extremely helpful in life, both financially and personally.

At the beginning of 2017, just one year ago, I resolved to better myself physically and financially. My credit score was around 420, I was living in a motel, and I was seriously overweight (around 280 pounds). I was spinning my wheels and needed to make a change.

By February, I’d paid off the biggest piece of debt keeping me from being able to move and in April we leased an apartment. Then I started focusing on my health and continuing on my current financial path. I continued to pay off debt and started to save money. In June, I had to use all my newfound savings for a medical emergency (doesn’t that always happen?). No matter what happened, I continued to push forward.

Skip to December 31, 2017, and my credit score is sitting at 650 (much better than earlier in the year). I’m also down 106 total from two years ago, 74 of which was lost in 2017. I also managed to establish some savings and established some credit for myself.

When entering 2018 I was kind of flabbergasted. What do you do when you come off a good year? How do you maintain momentum?

How to Maintain Momentum

Keeping up momentum is something I’ve always associated with sports, running more specifically. I knew how to maintain and push through that way. A huge portion of that is the mentality, of course, so how do you maintain momentum when you’ve had a great year? Here are a few things I am doing to ensure my 2018 is just as successful as my 2017:

Create a “did it” list. One great way to maintain momentum is creating a list of things you’ve already accomplished. By writing down the things you’ve already been able to do you can see the progress you have made. Consider keeping this list somewhere you walk by every day. When you accomplish something new, add it to the list.
Set and focus on smaller goals. Instead of focusing on the fact that you need to lose 100 pounds, set a smaller weekly or monthly goal. For example, set a goal of losing 20 pounds by the end of March (a little more than six pounds per month). This makes your goal seem more attainable and it will prevent you from becoming overwhelmed.
Celebrate all of your progress. Any progress you make towards your goal should be celebrated. Just be sure you celebrate it in a way that will not hinder you. For instance, many people trying to lose weight will reward themselves with some big, greasy meal. Instead, consider grabbing yourself a new outfit or piece of clothing (you’ll need it with 20 pounds gone). Financially, people oftentimes save or pay off debt just to recreate the cycle again (spending all of their money or charging their cards). Don’t let your celebration cost you your success.
Make small efforts each day. You should do something small each day to push you towards your goal. If your goal is to save more money, consider taking a money challenge that has you saving a different amount each day (the 365 Day Money Challenge is great). The same goes towards other goals you’ve set for yourself. Make a small effort each day and you’ll reach your goals in no time.

Each of these steps is something to consider when you are trying to maintain momentum in your personal life. Whether it is bettering your finances, doing better at work, or losing weight, you can keep climbing and reach your goals.

Have you had to find an innovative way to maintain momentum? Share it with us in the comments.