5 Things to make your financial plan a success.

When you decided to start saving money, what did you do?  Did you go through everything and make a comprehensive plan to get things going.  Or did you just say,” hey, that costs too much and I’m going to find another alternative.”  Or did you end up in category number three.  The “I’m broke and I have to fix it.”

There are many different ways that we got to where we are.  The big question now is:  What am I going to do to fix this and make sure it doesn’t happen again.  Here are a few good solid ideas that can help you go from financial trash to financial class.

Simplify everything.  There is only so much that any one person can handle.  Instead of dealing with 12 bills every month, knock it down to only 6 or 7.  Have multiple bank accounts?  Simplify it down into just one or a couple if you can.  Have lots of hobbies or tons of pets?  Limit yourself to just a couple.  You don’t have to live a hectic life to get a lot of enjoyment out of it.  Sometimes having too much will make you miss all you have.

Stick to your guns.  Are there a couple things that you are really good at doing when it comes to managing your money.  Play to your strengths.  So, if you can walk through a store without buying anything as long as you get to hold it for a while, then that’s what you need to do.  Whatever you can do well so that you can control your cravings to spend is your gun.  So stick to em and use them often.

Look at the finish line.  Once you’ve jumped in the water and start swimming, don’t forget to look up from time to time so that you can figure out where your going.  You don’t have to have any kind of plan at all to get started, just the desire to get going.  Jack Welch once said about the right employees for a company.  “The most important thing is to get the right people on the bus, and then you figure out where your going.  It doesn’t matter where you choose to go, because you know you have the right people.”  (I paraphrased from memory so it’s not perfect.)

Have a workout buddy.  It might be your financial battle and your the one who is going to deal with the consequences, but everybody loves having their own cheering section.  Get someone who will encourage you to work towards your goals and give you positive feedback to keep you encouraged and determined to achieve your goals.

Pick something you can live with long term.  In order to pick a financial plan that is going to create long term success, you have to have something you can live with for a while.  Yes it sounds good to say I’m going to live bare bones for 3 years and have enough money to pay cash for a car, but about 3 months down the road, your sinking like a rock.  Make your goals realistic, but still set them high, I’m not saying to wimp out and pick little goals.  Just make sure that you really can live with the financial diet you put yourself on.