FIVE POWERFUL STEPS TO FINANCIAL SUCCESS

Interesting year we are in, 2013!  Commonly, anything with the number 13 generates fear and superstition.  Many people run away from this feared number. Buildings do not have a 13^th floor as it is so feared.  Do we have a choice?  Can we ignore the year 2013 or pretend it does not exist just because it has the number 13 in the mix?  No, we can’t so we are going to include 2013 in our lives.  We are going to do something different this year.  We are actually going to embrace the number 13; we are going to embrace the entire year!  A suggestion for our theme for 2013 is NEW HOPES, NEW DREAMS AND FINANCIAL SUCCESS!

Every year we make plans and set goals, which we refer to as RESOLUTIONS.  Let us scrap that word. We are setting New Goals for a New Year with a number that will surely improve our chances.  We will begin by naming “2013” the year my life changed for the better.

My first question; what do you want to ACCUMULATE and what do you want to ELIMINATE?  Take a few minutes and write your answer down.

In the past few years were you a MISSILE WITHOUT A GUIDANCE SYSTEM?  Were you just going about your business working, paying bills, spending and reacting to life instead of life reacting to you?  It’s time to change.  Give yourself a GUIDANCE SYSTEM. Where do you want to go and when?

Now what are those five powerful steps to financial success I am talking about?  Well here they are, you might have heard some version of them previously, but not described to you in the way I am going to do so now!

1.  SPECIFICITY

Key to meeting your goals is to know your goals. Describe your goals completely and entirely until they become something you can recite like a nursery rhyme. You want to pay off your Master Card then say I want to completely pay off my Master Card.  Do not only say I want to pay off my debt.  This non-specific statement does not completely describe your goal.  The specific statement you want to make describes which debt and the amount.  Generally, when a goal is not specific it is not attained.  Ask yourself which debt, the $100.00 you owe your brother, or the $3000.00 outstanding on your Master Card?  Be Specific.

2.  KEEP SCORE

What steps are you taking to meet those goals?  In other words, keep score of your progress towards your goals.  Your statement should be as follows.  I want to pay off my Bank Master card (name the bank) and I am paying $250.00 towards the card every month.  So I Keep Score every month of the total I have paid towards my Bank Master Card debt, which shows me the headway that I have made.

3.  PUT YOUR GOAL INTO YOUR LIFESTYLE

Now that I am paying this Bank Master Card off, I should not continue to use the card.  Making payments to eliminate debt every month and simultaneously incurring more of the same debt is counter-productive.  For example, one should not make efforts to pay $250.00 a month towards a Bank Master Card debt and charge $200.00 to the card just because there is available credit.  Create habits that will enable you to bring your financial goals into your lifestyle and eliminate the habits that work against you.  Modify your behavior.

4.  PROGRAM FOR SUCCESS

Now that you know the steps you need to take in order to meet financial goals, avoid the impulses and temptations that are a hindrance to your targets.  An immediate reward can produce long-term penalties.  A drink after work every Friday is no longer one of your pastimes.  Dinner out every weekend with your friends should be scaled back. Why not cook with your friends at home and everyone contributes to the meal.  A lovely homemade Tuscan soup and some fresh buns with a bottle of wine can make a lovely winter dinner with friends at home.  Try it!  You’ll it!

5.  TIME.  WHEN DO YOU WANT TO ACCOMPLISH THIS GOAL

This is one of the most important steps in accomplishing your goal.  A friend of mine always wanted to retire to Jamaica.  I’ve heard the following statement for the last 15 years. “I am going back home to retire.”  Now that is an incomplete plan.  My friend did not complete his statement; he should have said:  “My goal is to retire in 2001 at the age of 60 in Jamaica.” Now that is a complete goal!  We have the where, the what and most importantly, the when!  My friend is still in Canada, retired and only vacations in Jamaica.  He maintains his dream of one day living in Jamaica but his goal is still incomplete.  With no when, no timeframe, this is an incomplete and unattainable goal.

So there they are!  Your Five Powerful Steps to Financial Success!  Every three months take time to look at your progress towards meeting your financial goal.  If you are not on tract, then re-evaluate and make the necessary changes to get yourself back on tract.  It may not be easy, keep plugging away, do not abort the goal!

Happy New Year

Tessa-Marie

January 2 2013