Although 2011 has been a tough year financially for many and 2012 is likely to offer more of the same, there is a lot you can to do take control over your financial life and financial future. More than you may think!
Here are 5 key steps you can take now to power up your finances for 2012 and have financial success.
1. Have a positive attitude. When it comes to money and also to your life as a whole, the number one key to your failure or success will be whether or not you possess, or adopt, a positive attitude. It will not be your intelligence, how you look, the amount of money you did or didn’t inherit, the education you did or didn’t get, your skills, your job, or a lucky break.
Many wise people have talked about this down through the ages. Not that long ago it was covered in a book and also a movie called The Secret. Prior to that, Dr. Wayne Dwyer had a bestseller called The Power of Intention. Seventy years ago it was Dr. Norman Vincent Peale’s The Power of Positive Thinking. All present the same message: what you expect, you get. If you really want all that life can offer, maintain a positive attitude.
2. Use the enormous power of discipline combined with momentum. I’m sure you know that discipline and momentum can each be very powerful. Try getting them both working for you.
The way to do this is to take a goal and break it into a series of small steps. Commit to just the first small step. Only the first one. Once you’ve completed that first step, just commit to the second step. If you make the commitment and are disciplined, you will accomplish those first couple of steps. Once you do, momentum begins and the entire process gets easier and easier. Getting out of debt, saving a large sum of money and breaking a bad habit can all be accomplished this way.
So pick your goal, break it down and just make the commitment to do the first little steps, then watch how the power of momentum literally takes over.
3. Put what you want in writing. The first thing that must happen to accomplish any goal is to have a written plan that identifies what you want and how you’re going to get it. If you do not, there is a very high probability that you won’t get what you want. Studies have shown again and again that this is so. Remember how you’d remember things better in school if you wrote them down? Well that was no accident. It’s simply how the brain works. Give it a thought-out picture of what you want and it will take you seriously and help you every step of the way, far more than it otherwise would.
When making your financial plan, be sure to include a list of the things you want to buy or do and in what sequence. Advertising, in all its forms, is incredibly powerful in our society today and without a prioritized written list of how you intend to spend your money it’s far too easy to get distracted and spend far too much of your hard-earned money where advertisers want you to, not where you wanted to.
4. Simplify your life. If you are like most people, you probably can benefit greatly from simplifying your life. If and when you do, you will surely find that the financial rewards can amount to some pretty terrific savings over time. Even better yet will be the improvement in quality of life you’ll likely experience. Simplifying your life doesn’t necessarily mean doing without, but living a less stressful, more balanced life. It means having more time for the things that really do end up making you happier.
How complicated has your life become over the years? How many things do you do every day, week, and month that you’d rather not do? Look at the things you do out of habit and the things you’ve been convinced to do by others. How many things do you own that you don’t use? Is each thing you do, each thing you own, really worth it? Be honest with yourself about whether each of these things actually adds to the quality of your life.
I promise, once you get into it, simplicity will amaze you. Time and again you will find that less is actually more, and the rewards of simplicity outweigh the rewards from whatever you were doing or owning before.
5. Optimize your health. Nothing is more valuable than good health and yet it’s so easy to take for granted. Don’t do it. Without good health nothing much else really matters. Decide here and now that you can and will invest the time needed to maintain your good health or if you have problems, to improve it. Use steps 1 to 4 above to help you do what you know you need to do.
I’d love to hear from you. How many of these five things do you do now and how well do they work for you?
Let’s toast to a great 2012 with Nike in mind, ‘Just do it!’ and see to it that this year goes down as being one of your best years ever.
Ted Hunter is available to provide unbiased financial advice as a financial coach. His approach is to empower clients to take full control of every aspect of their money management.