We all know what time it is. Folks start posting resolutions, memes, and other things that they plan to leave behind in 2016. Come March or early April, their efforts are all but dead.
I gave up on resolutions a long time ago and I’m becoming much more intentional with everything I do in life. This year, in addition to setting monetary goals with some number in mind, I want to be intentional with every dollar I spend.
One question I’m asking myself, starting now, “Is the money I’m about to spend going to help me (insert whatever it is I’m working towards)?”
For instance, maybe you want to eat healthier or lose weight. Is the $20 you’re about to spend at the grocery store on chips, buffalo chicken dip, cake, and soda going to help you with your end goal?
Or maybe you want to quit your job soon. Is that $100 you’re about to spend on those shoes going to help you towards that goal or hinder your ability to quit your job?
Take me for instance, I have an ideal life I’m in pursuit of and I want it as soon as I can get it!
I need to work from home (I’m currently doing so for an employer) for myself. The option of homeschooling my kids if it ever comes down to it (I don’t like or agree with some of the ways our kids are being educated outside of the home) would be nice too.
I also want to be able to pay off all of my student loan debt before I’m 40. Simply put, I want the freedom to choose to do whatever the heck it is I want to do at any given moment.
To be more intentional, your actions need to line up with your values.
For every dollar I spend, I have to be really careful to determine if I’m helping myself get closer to my ideal lifestyle or if I’m positioning myself further away from it. I see so many people living how I DON’T want to live. That is a great source of motivation for me but that can’t be my only focus.
I don’t want to be in my fifties and still dependent on a job. Nor do I want to be that age and not have the option to go spend weeks with my kids if they ever need me. I also don’t want to wait on an arranged two-weeks vacation with my job to get away with my husband. However, focusing on what I don’t want will not get me closer to the life I do want.
It’s time to be more intentional and put my focus into the things I want out of life. I choose to be more intentional today because I see no point in waiting any more and neither should you.
If you want to be more intentional with your finances, all you need to do is envision the life you want to live, write it down, and start doing things that will help you get you closer to your vision. Let’s not make things harder than what they really need to be.
Write a five to six sentence paragraph of your ideal life. Create two to three money goals that will help you get closer to that vision. Before you spend money ask yourself if this dollar spent is helping you get closer to your vision.
Most importantly, don’t start on 1/1/17. Start today.