New Year’s Resolutions Part 1
It’s Time to Buckle Down
As the calendar now moves past the end of November and into the colder month of December, it is time to start thinking about your New Year’s Resolutions!
I was reading a statistic the other day that said that New Year’s resolutions are generally done by February. 80% of people have already given up on their “big plans” before Valentine’s Day? I think there are about 10 reasons why these resolutions fail and I am going to tackle them over the next few weeks to give you a little hope as you enter the New Year.
#1 – Doing It Alone
As you head into the New Year and you are looking to make some adjustments to your financial plan, you need a partner. You need someone to hold you accountable and someone to keep you in “check”. It is absolutely essential to your success. If you are married, your spouse needs to be on board to help because he/she can be the biggest threat to derailing your plan OR your biggest advocate! Make sure that you both put a plan together and are determined to make it work. If you are single, you need to find someone that is not afraid to tell you “no”! Whatever you do, don’t do it alone!
#2 – Big Expectations
Most plans fail because your expectations are too high. If you have a list of credit cards on your automatic bill payment summary, don’t expect to get them ALL paid off immediately. (Unless you are expecting a big tax refund!) Be realistic and plan to get one or two of them paid off within the first six months of the year. Dave Ramsey always says that you didn’t get into debt over night and you won’t get out of it over night! Take your time but be diligent. Creating a plan or a resolution that is too big will set you up for failure. Be realistic.
#3 – Quitting too Soon
Resolutions – especially financial resolutions – fail because people give up on them too easily. Budgets are not always fun but it will take you 90 days to get it right. Putting a plan together for January is going to have some “bumps in the road”. February will be better and March will be much easier. Don’t give in so easily and use your partner to help you stick it out. The winter months are a little easier to stick to a budget because there are less outdoor activities to take your money!
More tips next week – We promise!
Can’t wait to hear Reasons #4 through #10? Email us today and we will get you the other 7 immediately and we can also schedule your free consultation. We would love to help you get this plan started. It is what we do at Hollander & Associates.
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