Have You Started Yet?
Have You Started Yet?
I’m sure you have read numerous articles about setting goals, especially in the financial part of your life. I have no doubt that you have these objectives in mind as you work through your monthly budget and all the activities that are included in that schedule.
However, while our intentions may be good, sometimes it is difficult to reach the destination we want to achieve. Well, please allow me to provide you with a tool or process that we have used to reach several larger financial goals.
My wife and I call these “Sub-Accounts.” Within our Money Market Account, we have a number of these “Sub-Accounts” that are designed to make sure we hit our objectives. We started these many years ago when we were frustrated by that monthly task of “paying the Visa card bill.” Oh, what an agonizing moment that was every month, and it was especially painful when the annual house & car insurance invoice came, too.
To get ahead of this challenge, we set up these “Sub-Accounts” to help us better prepare for future bills we would receive. For example, if the annual house & car insurance was $1,800, we’d start to put aside at least $150/month toward that bill in 12 months. It might even make sense to put $165/month away, since we know that next year’s bill will be higher…
When we charge something on our Visa card, we move money into the Credit Card Sub-Account, so we are no longer shocked when that statement comes each month. This has worked so well for us that we have been able to pay off two homes and, just recently, paid cash for a new car.
What’s the key to making this work? Set up these Sub-Accounts to suit your specific needs. Obviously, paying off your $200,000 mortgage probably isn’t going to happen in 24 months, but set a reasonable deadline for its elimination, perhaps 180 months. For a $36,000 car, maybe you need 36-48 months. The goal achievement will come, but you must get started.
Zig Ziglar once told a story about Howard Hill, perhaps the greatest archery expert ever. It was said that Hill could split an apple in two parts with an arrow & then could even split those have into quarters, although I’m not sure I would want to be holding the two halves… Yet, Zig claimed that he could teach you to shoot an arrow even better than Howard Hill. He would just have to spin Hill around twenty times and blindfold him.
I know you are probably saying: “That’s ridiculous! No one can hit a goal they cannot see.” And, you know what? You are exactly right. That is why the first step in this process is to set your goal & visualize it. This is not rocket science, but you must identify what your goal is. Zig also stated, “You don’t have to be great to start, but you do have to start to be great!”
Are there ways to implement this concept in your life? You bet that there are. What will be the key to your success? Set your objective and persevere. Even if you have some doubts, stay with the process. You will win.
“The world has the habit of making room for the man whose words and actions show that he knows where is going.” Napoleon Hill, Author of Think & Grow Rich
“If you measure something, you can understand it. If you understand it, you can control it, and if you can control it, you can improve it.” The same holds true in your monthly budgeting.
The reality is that it is nearly impossible to complete & follow a monthly budget without improving your overall financial position. There are several reasons for this, so I would challenge you to do this.
First, just developing a budget for yourself will raise your awareness of what you have for revenue or income sources and then also boost your cognizance of how much you are spending each month. Next, you will come to grips with the reality of one of three facts. Either you need to boost your income sources, reduce your outgoing expenditures or, thank goodness, if you have more income than expenses, you can then save some money. Of course, this is fantastic! You just need to determine where you will store or invest those extra funds each month…
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