For three years in a row, I ended each year exactly where I had begun. I started the year with lofty objectives, attempting to balance maintaining my sanity, improving relationships, and growing my fitness career, but within weeks, I would either lose focus or give up completely. It was then that I realised that money was missing from the puzzle. I never considered utilising money to support my objectives, but after I did, everything changed. I not only reached my goals, but I did so more quickly.
and so
I’m going to outline in this post the precise three-step approach I used to accomplish all of my goals last year. Priority checking, money architecture, and follow-through are the last steps. Now let’s begin the priority check. This is divided into two sections. We’ll first identify one aspect of your life that you want to improve this year, and then we’ll go over exactly how to achieve it. So, fetch your phone, open the note section, or open your note-taking software, and jot down
What is the one thing you want to focus on this year right now?
Pick one area and write it down. I want to highlight just one because when I done this two years ago, I tried to tackle everything at once. I got fit, started to meditate, started a side business, and all of that lasted for two weeks. Start with just one area, and you can always add another layer. Choose from the following: health, self, spirituality, relationships , work, and money.
As the year progresses, we must first transform our selected region into something tangible before we can allocate funds for it. This will then enable us to give it a monetary worth.
For example, if you choose Health Envision, what does success mean to you in practice? Imagine that instead of a vague idea, we’re going to create a clear road map with specific actions that move you closer to success. Think of it as mapping out your path to the destination where each milestone represents a tangible step forward.
Is it enrolling in and going to three fitness sessions every week? Strength training with yoga and spinning Is it making that long-overdue doctor’s appointment to finally treat your chronic back pain and continue attending the monthly physical therapy sessions? If you choose spirituality and self-improvement, what does growth look like to you? Perhaps it’s developing the daily practice of meditating for ten minutes.
If relationships are your focus, determine what improvement might look like. For example, is it planning monthly visits and friend visits, or is it enrolling in that online course on mindfulness or confidence development that you’ve been thinking about for months? If you decided on work, what does progress mean? Is it setting up a consultation to begin couples therapy or even reading a book together as your first step? Is it making a three-month action plan to start your side business, starting with the simplest step of designing a logo or researching your target audience? Is it looking into career switch options and scheduling one informational interview per week with people in your target industry? Be extremely specific and actionable so that you can monitor your progress.
I’ve never seen goal setting approached this way before, but optimising your finances around your goal will really fuel your transformation. Step two is the money architecture. Now that you have your specific actionable step written down towards your goal, it’s time to take a step that most people never even consider: making your money work for this goal. Determine your net income in step one. Write down your monthly net income, which is the amount of money that remains in your bank account after taxes, and deduct all of the expenses that you must pay each month, such as your rent or utilities for your mortgage. fundamental food items.
Step two is to set aside a portion of the remaining funds after paying for any minimum debt payments and other necessary bills. Keep in mind that this is not about ignoring your other top priorities, such as creating an emergency fund, making contributions to retirement, or paying off high interest rates on your transformation fund. works in tandem with those priorities. It doesn’t matter if you can only afford $50 per month at this time; what matters is that you are consciously setting aside funds for the life you want to create.
Step three Put your money to work while maintaining your financial foundation. To do this, create a completely different account from your regular spending and name it after your goal. Then, write the year or the given year first, then “health fund” or “relationship fund,” and set up an automatic transfer into this fund. This establishes a system that prioritises your goal without you even realising it. The most crucial thing to remember is that the funds in this account have a single purpose, which is to support your goals for the year, whether they are nutritious meals or challenging exercise sessions.
if a health fund is involved If it’s a work fund, I’ll be purchasing resources for your career or enrolling in a course. Keeping this money separate in a labelled account ensures that it is reserved for one purpose, which is your goal. I chose relationships as my focus, so I’m setting aside money each month to host. This fund is dedicated to bringing friends and family together, whether it be for dinners, outings, or meaningful quality time. It’s just a simple intentional way to make sure that my actions align with what matters most to me.
And if you reach the end of the month and notice that it hasn’t been touched, you want to ask yourself: If your well-being fund isn’t being used for healthy meals or gym memberships, what’s holding you back? If your relationship fund remains unaltered while date nights or quality time are consistently put off, it’s a sign that you’re not prioritising what you said you would. The goal isn’t to save this money, but to invest it in creating your life; that way, you’ll know exactly where it’s going each month.
Designing your year isn’t about earning or saving more money while your life remains the same; rather, it’s about utilising the money you already have in a different way, with purpose and intention, and in a way that will ideally help you stay on course with your objectives. Going on to phase three, the follow-through, is where most people get stuck. Life gets hectic, unforeseen expenses arise, and all of a sudden we revert to our old habits. To ensure that you truly continue with this, there are three things you need to do.
First, there is the monthly check-in set of recurring calendar reminders for the first of every month. If there is no money in the goal account, ask yourself why life got in the way and why that goal fell off your priority list. Use that as a signal to reevaluate, refocus, and take action. The progress track is the second month. Keep a brief note on your phone about how you’re utilising this money for me in order to achieve my relationship objective. I’ll keep track of who attended each time I host and what we did. This will hold me accountable and, to be honest, it’s rather inspiring to watch the development.
The third is the adjustment window, which occurs every three months. Examine your system to see if it’s functioning well, whether I need to modify the amount, and if I’m noticing any real changes in this area of my life. If not, we may need to make adjustments to the objective or the money plan. Your three-part plan for changing this year includes a priority check-in to determine what is important, a financial architecture to support that change, and a follow-through method to help you stay on course.
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