How to redesign your finances in 2023
As we move towards the new year, I want to take a few minutes to help you set some financial goals. For this to work, you must completely focus only on what you want your life to look and feel like; including, who you want to be. When I say who you want to be, I mean how you want to move through the world; what experiences do you want; and how would you like to show up for those in your life? The objective is unfiltered happiness. Unfiltered happiness is when you follow what your soul wants without societal influences. The more time you spend doing and being what your soul wants, the happier you will be.
In 2023, our focus will be on recreating and redesigning. This is especially important regarding your finances because, unfortunately, money errors can be costly and long-lasting. The result is a lot of fear, anxiety, and insecurity. It really doesn't matter if you did 10 things right and 1 thing wrong with your money, usually the focus is heavily on the one wrong move. With this exercise, leave your mistake in the past. Even if you are still dealing with it, it happened in the past. So, let's move into 2023 anew. Here are your steps.
Do the following:
List 1-3 activities or things you want to stop doing in any area of your life.
List 1-3 things that worked well and you want to continue doing.
List 1-3 things you want to start doing.
Next, write down WHY beside each thing. Why do you want to stop doing it, continue doing it, and start doing it?
Lastly, write down what each thing has cost you and will cost you. If the cost is monetary, try not to use estimates. You need facts.
For example, "I want to stop frequenting fast food restaurants because it's unhealthy and I can save money by eating the food I have at home. I probably spend about $15 a week on fast food."
In this example, you are guessing. However, if you look at your statements, you might have averaged about 10%-20% of your income on fast food alone. The difference can skew your goal setting and derail your outcome.
Do not skip a step and please set aside about an hour to put some thought into this exercise. This will align your money with your true happiness. It will also promote personal growth.
After you are done, break up your "continue doing and start doing" steps into small goals, say weekly. This will allow you to evaluate and pivot quickly. Here's an example of how to look at your goals.
“I want to start exercising 3 times a week, and the gym costs $40 a month. That's $10 a week or $3.33 each time I exercise. If I hadn't been there twice, I'd have wasted $6.67. If I did that 2 weeks in a row, I'd have wasted $13.33. If I did that for 2 years, which I've done before, I'd have wasted $693. If in 2 years, I didn't go to the gym at all, I'd give the gym a free $960.”
Here is where you revisit your WHY. Is it going to the gym, is it that particular gym, is it the distance to the gym, is it the time you can or cannot go to the gym, is it because you don't really like gyms, or is there another way to exercise that you like better?
If exercising is important to you and you want to have a goal, your job is to uncover "your way". You may actually enjoy yoga, hiking, or skating more than going to a gym. Once you find your way, your money will be better aligned and viola', you are on your way to redesigning yourself. I don't know about you, but that feels better already.
Here’s an example looking specifically at financial goals. If your goal is to pay off some debt or start investing, 1. determine a dollar amount, 2. divide that goal by pay period or month, and 3. determine how you will track it.
Only focus on the current time period, say, this month. Meet the monthly goal, then focus on the next month and only that month. Do this throughout the year. If something doesn't go well for one month or you didn't meet the goal for 2 consecutive months, revisit your WHY and uncover your way. Maybe the stock market isn't for you, but you're interested in real estate or venture capitalism (providing funds to new companies you believe will be successful); or, maybe your income has changed or you had to pay for a big emergency. Focusing on shorter timeframes allows you to pivot and keep the energy around your goal, thus giving yourself the opportunity to still be successful. I don't know about you, but I’m inspired already.
In summary, we are tuning out the noise and tuning into ourselves. We are dividing our goals into bite-size pieces. We are tracking and evaluating our progress as we go, and adjusting accordingly.
Are you ready?
As always, here is to your continued financial success.
Lana
