If you will recall from last week, we are working on goal setting. In our scenario, your big vision is completing a marathon. You’ve set objectives that you want to reach along the way that will get you to that big vision, but now you need to set goals along the way. Let’s walk through the things that goals should be:
Realistic: If you set a goal that you want to run 8 hours a day to prepare for your marathon, but you still need to work so you can pay your bills in the meantime, then that goal is not realistic. Goals are things that you could actually accomplish.
Time-Oriented: If you say that you want to start out by being able to run 3 miles, but you don’t set a time to complete that goal, you could get to marathon day and only be able to run 3 miles of the 26. You need to specify times to reach your goals. Say you are going to be able to run 3 miles in 2 weeks and then add a mile each week after that. As a side note: It may be different for things like training for a marathon, but in regards to your big life dreams, try setting 90-day goals. This will give you enough time to accomplish something but not be so long that you forget or lose track of what you were trying to accomplish).
Challenging: Your goals need to be challenging. Don’t set a goal that you are going to be able to walk 1 mile a month from now. You can surely do that already. You need to make it a challenge. Set a goal that requires work and commitment (but remember to be realistic – make it challenging but something you can really accomplish).
Measurable: You need to be able to know if you have actually accomplished your goal or not, so make sure it is measurable. An example of this would be saying you are going to lose 5 lbs. by 2 weeks from today. You can step on the scale and see if you have actually lost the 5 lbs. or not. You can also readjust your goals based on whether you achieved this goal or achieved it plus lost an extra 2 lbs.
Emotional: Let’s face it, you won’t work hard to achieve your goals unless they are motivating. Why would you keep driving by your favorite burger place day after day without stopping in unless it means something to you to lose some weight? You know that if you lose that 20 lbs. you will be in much better shape to finish the marathon, but along the way, knowing you’ve lost 5, 10, 15 lbs. can also give you confidence and make you feel better. So these are good goals to set.
Ok, so let’s set some 90-day goals for your marathon training:
In 90 days: Lose 5 lbs. and be able to run 5 miles in one stretch
In 180 days: Lose 10 lbs. total (that’s losing just 5 more lbs.) and run 10 miles a day 3 days a week
In 270 days: Lose 15 lbs. total and run 20 miles in one stretch
In 360 days: Lose 20 lbs. and be able to run 26 miles in 1 stretch so you can run that marathon and reach the finish line!
Goal-setting can seem intimidating at first. But if you break it down and set goals that will point you in the direction that in your heart you know you want to go, then it can be a motivating and invigorating process. If you need help setting goals, be sure to call our office at 303-462-2001 and see how we help clients set goals in all areas of their lives, which ultimately brings them freedom (including financial freedom!). You can also check out our home page to learn more about how a financial life coach can help you.
Tags: goal setting, measurable, motivating, realistic
The importance of goals in your life and finances is paramount. How can you get out of debt or save enough for retirement or go on that big family vacation if you don’t have goals to get you there? Picture yourself standing at the base of a mountain. The summit is your big vision or dream for some aspect of your life. Now, you know that you can’t just magically go from the bottom of the mountain to the summit. You must put one foot forward and take steps to get there. Picture yourself climbing that mountain. You may start feeling a little exhausted, so you look ahead to a giant tree coming up along the path and say to yourself, “I am going to make it to that tree!” Then you take one step at a time, keep working towards that tree, and before you know it, you’re there! You can look back to see how far you have come, and then look forward towards that summit, and you find you have the motivation to keep moving forward.
So where do you start in your real life goal-setting? You start by defining your dream. Today, let’s say you want to run a marathon. 26 long miles. Think about why you want to do this. You want to be in peak physical shape? Now think about some Objectives that will help get you there. Like: you need to drop that extra 20 lbs. that you’ve recently acquired through your love of milkshakes. You need to be able to run that long distance, but right now you get a little winded climbing the stairs to go to bed at night. So you write down your list of short-, mid-, and long-term objectives:
Short: Be able to run at least 10 miles in a stretch.
Mid: Lose 20 lbs.
Long: Be able to run at least 20 miles in one stretch before the marathon.
You have your objectives now, so the next step is to define your goals, the steps that will get you there. There are some basic things that goals must be, which I will discuss in more detail in the next post (yes, come back next week!). Goals must be all of these things: realistic, measurable, challenging, emotional, and time-oriented. If your goal is not all of these things, then it will not be helpful in getting you to your big vision. Also keep in mind that you should place your goals in a highly-visible place, meaning that you see them often, to keep them at the forefront of your mind so that you will continue to work on achieving them.
Tags: goal setting, goals
Spring is fast approaching, and many people feel the urge or the need to do some Spring Cleaning this time of year. At iMoneyCoach one of our big goals is to find ways for our clients and friends to save money, save time, and make money. So I have put together a quick list of ways you can do each of these this spring.
Save Money
- Make your own window cleaner. Here is an easy recipe for a DIY window cleaner that evaporates quickly and is comparable to the big name brands and can also be used on tile and chrome surfaces:
Ingredients
* 1 cup rubbing alcohol * 1 cup water *1 tablespoon vinegar
Mix ingredients in a spray bottle, spray on surface to be cleaned and wipe with a cloth or paper towel.
- Medical expenses. Reducing the allergens in your house by getting the dust out of nooks and crannies, getting mold off the shower curtain, and deep-cleaning to get rid of bacteria will not only make you feel good, but it can keep you healthy, which will save you the expense of doctors visits and medications.
- Check for leaks around the home. Re-caulking around windows can help keep the cool air inside this summer so you don’t have to run the AC as much.
Save Time
- Get the whole family involved. Make a list of what needs to be done and have a family work day. This will get the job done faster, and everyone can bond over the work and maybe share a dessert as a treat afterwards.
- Have all your supplies rounded up and ready to go. When it’s time to get started on a room, have all of your cleaning supplies in one easy place so you don’t have to spend the time running back and forth getting each supply you need as you move from cleaning windows to dusting to sweeping, etc. Consider using a bucket to keep everything together. This will help keep things tidy under the sink all year long too!
Make Money
- Sell your old books at a used book store.
- Sell your old, unwanted jewelry at a pawn shop.
- Sell other old items at a garage sale. Be sure to put reasonable prices on things so that you make money, but don’t price things too high that you will otherwise throw out. If you don’t live in a garage-sale friendly location, join up with a friend or multiple friends and have a big sale somewhere else.
- If you have some larger or big-ticket items, list them online like on Craigslist. You may be able to get more money for the items and not have to worry about hauling them in and out of the garage or baking in the sun during your garage sale.
- Donate whatever does not sell. Be sure to get a receipt so you can report your donation on your taxes.
Remember that even though you just cleared a lot of clutter out of the house you don’t have to go out shopping and buy all new things! There’s a lot to be said for simple living – hey, the less stuff you have in the house, the less stuff you have to clean and the more money you keep in your pocket.
Tags: DIY, make money, save money, save time, spring cleaning
They say that money problems are the leading cause of divorce these days. While many couples argue about money, money itself may not be the issue. Everything in your life affects your finances. This is one of the key concepts of iMoneyCoach. One thing that we encourage our clients to do is to sit down once a week (maybe more or a little less often depending on their situation) with their spouse and discuss the budget.
What benefits does this offer?
- Both spouses (and the kids if they are invited) know exactly what the financial situation is for the family and can make decisions accordingly. It is getting close to the end of the month and the dining out budget has already been met, so the family opts to stay in and eat at home this Friday night. Or the kids can see that if they save up for that video game themselves instead of begging Mom and Dad for it, the family will be able to stay on track planning a fun vacation.
- Arguments can be avoided! If John knows that there is not enough money in the budget to cover a week-long camping trip, maybe he can work out a weekend instead. At the same time, Jane knows that John has been working hard and deserves a vacation, so she can help spot areas where they can cut back and open up a little room in the budget to make that trip happen. Sitting down together to work on the budget reminds you that you are a team. You care about each other’s needs and desires, and you work together to figure out how to make them happen. Besides avoiding arguments, you are actually building a stronger, more loving relationship.
- You will reach financial goals sooner. If you hadn’t really considered financial goals before, this weekly meeting is a good place to talk about them. Want to save up for retirement or the kids’ college? Want to plan a family vacation? Each week, you can discuss your goals and see the progress you are making towards them. If a large bill comes up (suppose Mikey needs braces), then you can work together to adjust the budget. This is much better than one spouse simply cutting up the other’s credit card to cover the new expense, leaving that other spouse feeling undervalued and not respected. I’ve heard of this happening, and trust me, it’s better to talk about it and work together as the team you are!
Tags: budget, financial goals, money problems, spouse
I usually try to keep the blog to tips and ideas for saving money, making money, or working on life issues that will ultimately affect your financial situation. Today I’d like to talk about iMoneyCoach’s email campaign, the true iMoneyMinute. We designed this email series to be a quick read where our clients and friends can in one minute or less find great ideas and tips to save money, save time, or make money. So far we have received mostly positive feedback about the emails. So I wanted to be sure and give out the link here so you can sign up for iMoneyMinute emails.
What are some examples of these iMoneyMinutes, and why would they be useful to you?
Here’s an example: The iMoneyMinute we sent out in late January was about finding free Wi-Fi. McDonald’s recently announced that they would be offering free Wi-Fi at many of their locations (and there are a lot of McDonald’s out there!). So we included the link to the McDonald’s restaurant locator. But maybe you would want to go other places to scout out free Wi-Fi. So we included these two cool website links to find free Wi-Fi near you: Free Wi-fi Spot and Open Wi-fi Spot. On a personal note, my family recently gave my grandmother a new laptop. Now, she has been using Juno for ages, and while it works, it is very slow and she can’t watch any sort of videos on there (not great when most of your grandkids and great-grandkids live out of state and post updates and videos online!). Now she has a list of places all over town where she can go sit and connect wirelessly to a fast internet!
Another example: We care about our clients’ safety, including their computer safety. And we want to save money for them, so we sent out an iMoneyMinute with links to a variety of FREE PC Danger-Proofing tools.
We aren’t a company that is solely about making money. We do have to make money to stay in business, but the iMoneyMinute is just one way that we can share a free service with great tips and advice that can help others save money, save time, or make money. It’s that easy. Life is full of things that drain your pockets, and we just want to ease that drain for you!
So again, if you do not already receive our iMoneyMinute emails and would like to do so, please sign up here. And if you already get them, I sincerely hope that you are enjoying the information and that it is useful to you. If you have any ideas or suggestions for upcoming emails, please send over a quick email (sarah@ifsweb.com) and I’d be happy to work on an iMoneyMinute that fits a need you have or would help others!
Tags: iMoneyMinute, save money
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