“There’s nothing like external pressures to get me moving.”
Did you bring the egg-nog? Wait, wha-? Oh yes, my petal. It’s that time again. First of the month and we’re here to check in on your fiscal New Years Resolutions. How are yours shaping up?
We’ve been tracking personal finance blogger Thicken My Wallet as he measures and adjusts his 2008 fiscal goals. If you missed the last installment, click here. To get back in the groove on your own goals, make sure to get involved in a related Geezeo group.
Geezeo and I have a pact. I would report in on my 2008 financial goals monthly as a way to keep me on track, using the motivation of public humiliation to move me along, just as Geezeo helps its users reach its financial goals using its on-line tools (without the public shaming).
[Editor's note: well, some users do their own shaming...]
Last month, I outlined a little about what Thicken My Wallet is about and tracking my own financial goals.
If you see Geezeo’s front page, you will see a pig. How appropriate since I am disappointed to report that I am getting fat. “Fat� is a relative term. I am a rather slender guy. Lest you imagine I have ballooned like Marlon Brando in his later years and my sausage fingers are hitting two keys on the keyboard at once, fear not. I have, however, put on a few pounds primarily from extensive business travel, eating out a lot and just not exercising as much as I should. Thus, I am failing at my fitness goal.
Luckily for me, my fitness goal is an end of year goal so I have time to shed some pounds and recover. This gets back to my point last month not to set goals with too short of a time-line lest we not reach them and crush our confidence.
I was complaining to me friend at lunch yesterday about a certain thickening of my waist-line and he responded “so what are you going to do about it?� It was a good question since it put the responsibility back on me rather than blaming travel schedules, the fat content in potato chips etc.
The only way I am going to get in shape is to conform to peer pressure- I am going to start working out as part of a group (a running club or a sports team). At the very least, I know other people will rely on me to show up. There’s nothing like external pressures to get me moving.
My other goals of increasing net worth and passive income are really require an application and reapplication of good habits. If I keep doing what I am doing (paying down debt, reducing frivolous expenses and not panicking when the stock market goes down), I should be ok.
The one thing I am discovering about executing goals is that it doesn’t have to be an action packed affair. If I do a certain thing at a certain time (i.e. on the 1st of the month, I must contribute x amount of dollars) and then track my financial goals at set intervals, it actually becomes pretty boring but financial goals should be boring. Adventure to me in personal finance would be fighting off bankruptcy every single day. I would rather be accused of boring and financially secure than exciting but a train wreck with my money.
My final thought is about the weather. In my part of the world, we have experienced record snow fall and a lot of dark days this month. Obviously, this plays with my mood and leads to a certain unwillingness to get off the couch (see my previous comments about getting fat). The only thing I can do to combat this is keep my mind on the larger goal even if I am not doing anything about it then and there. At least it stays top of mind.
I’ll report back next month to see how keeping my goals top of mind is leading to positive action.
