I believe that by being intentional about your financial life, you will have a more productive and purposeful financial 2019. Pick one or two of these to start out with.
1. List your financial wins
What where your 2018 financial victories? Did you have constructive monetary conversations? Did you make commendable fiscal choices? What character traits led you to these victories? Were you diligent, patient, creative, resourceful? We seldom give ourselves credit when due, so take the time to pat yourself on the back. You will be more likely to build on those wins in 2019.
2. Acknowledge your financial failings
We all make financial mistakes, every day in many ways. We overspent on holiday purchases. We argued with someone we love about a money matter. We didn’t do the end of year tax harvesting or rebalancing we had intended to. We should have put more money away for future goals. When we acknowledge and accept what we didn’t do, we become accountable and it frees us to choose a new direction.
3. Financially forgive yourself and others
A new direction includes letting go of the past. It is the conscious decision to let go of the blame, resentment, anger or other detrimental emotions that holds you hostage. It is about accepting and finding peace in that we are all financially fallible, and that we can choose to head into the new year with new intentions instead of incriminations.
4. Sever the financial ties that bind you
Take a look at your subscription services and review your auto pays. Are there apps you are paying for, subscriptions that are no longer serving you, memberships you no longer use? Cancel them. This is a simple way to free up money that you can use discerningly in your spending plan. Are their people in your life that are financial unhealthy for you? Are there boundaries that you need to define and refine in order to stay in your financial integrity?
5. Identify and connect with others
You are not alone, and you are part of something larger than yourself. Who can help you become your next best financial self? If you choose a life of improvement (I am still on a growth journey), who can hold you accountable for that advancement in your financial life? Build your tribe in doing your dollars differently. Set yourself up for growth and true prosperity by putting the professionals and the proponents in place to walk alongside you in 2019
6. List your financial fears, then set them on fire
What financial fears hold you hostage from moving forward? Write them down. Say them out loud. They are just perceptions of something that could be. The ghosts of a financial future not yet realized. Just as Scrooge faced his demons, bring yours out of the closet and face them full on. After you make the list, take it outside and set it alight. Dan Zadra states it powerfully, “Worry is a misuse of the imagination.” Bring your monetary worries into the light and set yourself free to imagine your true potential.
Each day is a chance for new beginnings, and delving into any or all of these will help set you up for new pecuniary potential in 2019.
Danielle Howard is a certified financial planner, author, speaker and financial thought leader. Visit her at http://www.daniellehoward4u.com; or http://www.wbd4u.com Advisory Services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc., A Registered Investment Advisor. Securities offered through Cambridge Investment Research Inc., a broker/dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Cambridge and WBD are not affiliated. 970-927-3909 23300 Two Rivers Road #34 Basalt, CO 81623.