It’s hard to make any progress if you’re not fully committed to a goal. When it comes to achieving your financial goals, are you committed or only interested in doing better?
We can always have the best of intentions but it’s sometimes difficult to to get serious about budgeting and saving. You have to rely on a deeper purpose to become committed. You need to become accountable to your spouse and family to reach the level of commitment needed.
Don’t be like the frog! A frog will sit in the water as it gets warmer and eventually ‘croak’ as the water reaches the boiling point. Understand that if you’re not paying attention to your spending then it will eventually catch up with you and get you into ‘hot water’. This is the result of only being interested.
Become aware of where you are so that you can get to where you’d like to be. Track your spending so you can know where to cut back. You’ve got to know where every dollar is going in order to make adjustments so that you can get things in order.
7 Indicators of Commitment to Your Financial Future
- You have a purpose - It's probably deeper than having nice things.
- You have a plan - You've put together a daily plan to get out of debt, stay out of debt, and prosper.
- You're enthusiastic about the future. You're excited to know that you're in control and have the power to overcome all of the mistakes of the past. Don't let discouragement creep in.
- You understand the risk. There's risk involved for your future and that of your legacy if you don't change course now.
- You're content with where you are but know that you can do better. You're not interested in buying more stuff but only reaching debt freedom and creating margin.
- You're being accountable. You're talking openly with your spouse, other family members, or close friends about your progress. You understand that you need to be accountable to win.
- You're asking for help. None of us have all of the answers. We must ask others for help to increase the odds of reaching our financial goals. This could be knowledgeable friends, a blog such as this one, and/or a professional financial adviser.
Here are three major steps to getting committed.
The first step in becoming committed is to define your purpose. Write it down and recite it daily.
For example; My kids will not have to worry about money because I’m making the best decisions today that will positively impact their future as well as generations to come. I’m committed to doing my best for my future family.
The second step to becoming committed is to develop a plan. Without a plan there will not be any payoff!
For example; We will build our emergency fund to $1000 and get out of debt. We will have our emergency fund in place by the end of next month and have our first debt paid off by the end of the year.
Without a plan there will not be any payoff! Click To TweetThe third step is become accountable. You can’t do this alone. Share your purpose and plan with a couple of people and ask them to be a part of the journey and have them ask often about your progress.
Celebrate even the seemingly small victories as they’ll add up to larger ones. Keep the momentum going by celebrating and staying enthusiastic.
Please leave a comment with any questions or if you’d like to drop a line with some useful commentary.
