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This may come as no surprise, but three out of
four Americans hate financial planning. Many of
us like to dream about things such as buying a new
home, traveling to different places, sending our
children to college, or even retiring early. Unfortunately,
the reality of financing those dreams often prevents
many of us from living them out, which may explain,
in part, why so many people hate financial planning.
With some patience, planning and discipline, you
can achieve some if not all of your dreams, and
at the same time, feel better about yourself and
your money!
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Getting Past The Idea Of Budgeting
& Saving Money
by Gregory Thomas
I'm sure you'll agree that budgeting, saving money, and
eliminating debt are very appealing ideas. If effectively
tackled, these goals can secure your financial status
for the future, and allow you to live a comfortable, debt-free
life.
However for some unfortunate reason, these important financial
goals hardly ever get accomplished, and most will continue
to go through life consistently worried about their financial
security, unprepared for what the future may hold.
I have been writing money saving articles and newsletters
for SavingSecrets.com for over 6 years now, and after
being in contact with a number of readers over the years,
I found that many who were interested in learning how
to effectively save money simply lacked the foundation
to accomplish this.
I am a firm believer that the ability to save and budget
is dependant on the plan and approach one takes. Sure
many proclaim they want to conserve and save more, but
how many actually accomplish this? Saying one thing and
actually doing are completely different from one another.
Why do you think so many New Year's Resolutions are forgotten
and never heard from again?
For example, think of the times you yourself started a
new hobby or goal. Were you successful? If not, how long
did you stay with this new undertaking? What was your
reason for quitting or not following through with the
intended plan?
From this short self reflection, you can probably guess
the reality most would-be budgeteers are faced with. Even
though these individuals have the desire to conquer their
finances, for some reason the task never gets accomplished.
What is needed to help guarantee success is inspiration
and a solid approach, or what I like to refer to as a
"game plan".
Think about it.
If someone wants to learn how to play the piano, realistically,
they are not going to just sit down and start banging
away on the keys. They'll never learn to play the piano
effectively that way!
In order to tackle the process of learning the piano,
an eager student will take lessons, purchase "How
To Play Piano" books, tapes, cd-roms, interactive
software, browse the Internet for tips and related online
forums, check local college for classes and instructors,
etc..
Who do you think will have more success learning to play
the piano? More than likely it will be the energetic individual
with the planned agenda and goals, than the dreamer without
a "game plan".
Designing Your Game Plan
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once you fully commit to accomplish a particular task,
to help improve your chances for success it is imperative
that you design and follow a regiment, a well thought
out "game plan".
Every task, whether it's for work or pleasure, has some
type of goal or objective. If your underlying task is
to clean the house, then a specific goal may be to clean
the kitchen or organize the cupboards by the end of the
day. If your task is to learn how to play the piano, then
a goal may be to learn how to play your favorite song
within a month or two.
Take notice that the goals provided are very realistic
and practical. You want to establish goals that are attainable
in a reasonable amount of time.
Before you start planning how YOU are going to tackle
the task of budgeting and saving money, take a moment
to determine what goal(s) you want to accomplish and a
specific time frame for each particular goal. This will
give you something tangible to strive for and help keep
you focused on task, thus increasing your chances for
success.
Here's an example of a practical task along with the respective
goals:
TASK: Spring Clean The Whole House
GOALS:
week 1 - kitchen; refrigerator, cupboards, monthly menu,
coupons organized
week 2 - garage; organize boxes, Xmas decor, scrub/polish
floor
week 3 - family room & bathrooms: cleaned, scrubbed,
carpet & drapes
etc...
Putting Your Plan Into Action
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Remember the piano playing example mentioned earlier?
No matter how many books or tapes you buy to help teach
you how to play, unless you devote serious time to practice,
you will not improve and you will not accomplish your
goal(s).
Your game plan MUST be put into ACTION! Don't let your
wonderfully designed agenda get lost under a heap of papers
or collect dust on some obscure counter top.
Put your plan into action!
Just like the piano player, you will need to devote focused
time specifically to your task in hopes of accomplishing
the predetermined goals. Keep in mind that only after
serious time and effort is devoted to your cause will
any real changes occur.
Hopefully this has inspired and motivated you to accomplish
your tasks and goals regardless of what they may be. If
you need more assistance and guidance, or if you would
like access to 50+ money saving articles, newsletters
and creative ebooks you can download, stop by and explore
our money saving resource at: www.SavingSecrets.com
Best wishes accomplishing your tasks and goals to effectively
save and eliminate that ever-present debt!
Learn Effective Money-Saving Techniques & Eliminate
Your Debt At SavingSecrets.com. Hop on over and you'll
find FREE money-saving articles, a monthly newsletter,
and even a FREE Ebook download just for stopping by!
http://www.SavingSecrets.com
About the Author
You'll agree that budgeting, saving money, and eliminating
debt are very appealing ideas. If effectively tackled,
these goals can secure your financial status for the future,
and allow you to live a comfortable, debt-free life. |
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