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Inside: 5 proven steps to get your financial house in order. A better way to reach your financial goals without spreading yourself too thin.
Hindsight is 2020: Let’s Win This Time
A new year gets us all excited! It means fresh starts, new opportunities and a chance to get it right…this time. We set goals, have a renewed sense of purpose and are ready to dive into the possibilities that are at our fingertips. Until we are days in and life happens.
It’s easy to get discouraged when life throws curveballs we couldn’t have expected. Momentum is lost and we feel ready to give up. But I think there’s a better way to reaching goals and to better ourselves than just giving up and giving in.
Related: When You Need Encouragement to Keep after Your Money Goals
Get your financial house in order once and for all with 5 proven steps that you can start today
Sometimes, circumstances happen that’s beyond our control, but what about those times when we hold the responsibility of not setting ourselves up well?
If we do what we’ve always done, we’ll get what we’ve always gotten, right? So, if every year you set these major goals, but come February you resolve to “try again next year”, it’s time to reevaluate your goals.
Setting goals should stretch and grow you, not be impossible and so beyond your reach that you give up. On the other hand, if the goals you set are stretching and achievable, but there is no follow through, then it’s time to reevaluate your methods.
Our family had wanted to become debt free, specifically pay off my student loans from nursing school- I was going on year 11 as a nurse and we still hadn’t achieved our goal. It wasn’t our goal that was impossible, it was our method of achieving that specific goal.
We were trying to do all the things at once; build a savings account, travel, and spend money on frivolous lifestyle choices. At the end of the day, the paychecks from two full time careers were being spread so thin, it no room to pay off the student loan debt.
Related: Get a head start and reach debt free status faster when you knock down spending in 4 key areas
To get started, we had to stop running in so many directions and focus on our one main goal. Here’s how we finally got our financial house in order:
5 proven steps to get your financial house in order once and for all that you can start today
Reflect
Look at the previous year and determine what did and didn’t work. When I reflected over our previous years of finances, I found several habits I wanted to leave in the past. We did not follow a budget, track our spending and apart from “wishing” away our debt, we had little to no financial goals. No wonder we were getting nowhere fast.
Reflecting on past years can help prepare you for a better future. Ask yourself, “Has what we’ve done in the past helped us get to where we want to be?” If the answer is no, it’s time for change.
Research
There are many tried and true methods of goal achieving, just look at those who have gone before. There are multiple debt payoff methods, but we needed to know what could work best for us.
We looked into various options; there are many opinions floating around on what will save the most money in the long run verses faster options, and so on.
I get anxious just thinking about math and numbers, so I needed to keep it as simple and easy as possible. After a few days of looking into options, we chose Dave Ramsey’s budget and debt payoff method.
Plan
This is where realism and determination play an important role.
How will you actually get where you want to go?
For us, it meant setting up a budget {let the record show this was my very first budget I had ever created in 34 years…gasp. I was nervous!}.
Related: How to Actually Stick to Your Budget This TimeTimeline
Now that there’s a plan in place, it’s time to figure out a realistic, but stretching timeline.
A timeline is best approached by determining the shortest time frame it can take you to reach your goal.
We estimated our debt payoff goal would take approximately three years to reach. We had some obstacles, like three kids {two being infant twins}, the loss of my full time income and just those unknown financial surprises of life, ahem, living in an older house. But, we were determined to get out from under the debt that weighed us down.
Related: Get a head start and reach debt free status faster when you knock down spending in 4 key areas
This is what we knew, if we allowed too much time, momentum would get lost. Equally as important, if our timeframe didn’t allow for enough time, we would potentially set ourselves up for failure.
Attack
This is the hard part. It all comes down to starting and choosing the next right step. Every minute. Every hour. Every day.
Because every decision counts. I knew that old ways won't open new doors in our quest to pay off debt.
So, I had to be drastic;
I had to start breaking years of poor and frivolous spending habits. I had to retrain my brain to know real needs vs. short term gratification. To say this was difficult would be an understatement.
I had to make the decision to not buy what I wanted when I wanted it, not shop when I felt like I didn’t have the “right” outfit or “not enough of” whatever, and I had to learn to actually deal with emotions instead of partaking in retail therapy.
And the only way I knew how to do this was to stop shopping. I couldn’t trust myself to even browse. Drastic changes take drastic measures. I went on a shopping fast for the better part of a year...AND I SURVIVED! I can even admit, I thrived and learned to love exactly what I already had.
Related: A Little-Known Trick to Make You Stop Splurging
5 proven steps you can start today to get your financial house in order without spreading yourself too thin
Another measure we took was to track all spending; even if it meant going over an assigned budget line. We won’t always make the best choices to take us across the so-called finish line, but we can give ourselves grace, get back up and try again.
I also found a way to work two jobs while still mostly being a stay at home mom, my husband picked up a seasonal job in addition to his full time job, we sold anything we didn’t use and we became intentional with every single dollar that came our way.
I messed up… so many times. I felt discouraged…so many times. I felt like we’d never reach our financial goals…so many times.
But, no matter how I felt, I decided to keep moving forward.
All of our sacrifice, hard work (literally, we were tired a lot) and sheer determination, we paid off $69,900 in 17 months! 2019 officially became the year we not only paid off the remainder of my student loans, but also became DEBT FREE {except for the mortgage}!!!
Related: How to Pay Off Debt (Even If You Have an Irregular Income)
My friends, we can achieve goals. I like to believe, and say out loud, that we can do anything we set our minds to. But if time after time we fail to reach a goal we so desperately want to achieve, reevaluate the goal and your method.
This is our year! We have 365 amazing days ahead of us, days to love others well and love ourselves well. If something doesn’t quite pan out like you’d hope, don’t give up! Reflect on the why, make a new game plan and go attack it!
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Tessa is the wife to Jake of almost 11 years and mom to three spunky girls, two of which are
twin toddlers. She stays home with her girls and works part time as an oncology nurse. Her
family, career and sharing encouragement are her passions. One of her greatest achievements
has been learning about personal finances; an area of her life that used to bring stress and
anxiety, now empowers her. She shares how she’s found intentionality and freedom in faith,
family and finances on her Instagram page {@thisplaceofjoy}.
