Why Do a Money + Life Decade in Review?
Holy moly time is just flying by. Remember the song, ‘party like it’s 1999,’ um hold up, that’s TWENTY YEARS AGO!
The end of the year is always a time to reflect on what went right or wrong with your money and life. Also, it’s a chance to see if you’re on track to achieve your dreams. Or as Mary Oliver said, “Tell me, what are you going to do with your one wild and precious life?”
I’m guilty of getting in a rut and feeling stuck. Life isn’t always rainbows and butterflies. That’s why there’s value in pausing and evaluating: what is my life like now and more importantly, what would I like my life to be like?
Then taking small steps in that direction.
Life is precious and I’ve known one too many people who’ve lost loved ones far before their time. What are your dreams? What do you feel like you were born to do? DO IT!
Grab a pen and paper and do your very own decade review of your money and life with these three steps.
Step 1: Look Back at Where You Were
Ten years ago, what was your life like? Did you have debt? What kind of debt did you have? Was it from school or a horrible health scare? Did you feel stressed about money? What are you proud of? What were your natural gifts that you embraced through your career?
For me, ten years ago I just finished college. After being a top sales rep in college selling home security systems, I rolled up my sleeves and started my own home security company in 2009.
I had student loans and a car loan and regretted deeply that I bought a brand-new luxury car but wasn’t yet aggressively paying off debt. I did geek out about compound interest and was investing for retirement.
What about you?
Step 2: Recognize Where You Are Now
Where are you now? There is value in being self-aware! The head-in-the-ground or ostrich approach doesn’t get you any closer to being debt-free or retiring early. Are you regularly investing for retirement? Is your debt gone, or somehow increased?
The best way to know where you are is to complete your own financial statements. I freakin’ love financial statements! They are what Fortune 500 or billion-dollar companies use. If you want help finding out where you stand, I created a new mini-class and 1-hour coaching package with your own Financial (day) Planner to fill in your financial statements. Check out the details here😊.
Right now, I’m happy that I paid off my debt a few years after graduating and stayed debt-free! I have been an entrepreneur for a decade and over 1500 people have attended my class or live events! I’m not 100% financially independent yet. The true definition of financial independence is to have assets that generate income to cover your expenses. I can’t stop working and retire, but I was able to take a long sabbatical or mini-retirement this year!
Step 3: Determine Where You’d Like to Go
What’s next for you? What do you want to achieve for the next ten years? Do you want to take a year off work to stay at home? Maybe you want to start a business or nonprofit?
If you don’t pinpoint where you want to go next, you will probably have more of the same ol’ same ol’ issues that you have now! Or as Zig Ziglar said, “If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.”
It’s intimidating to clearly state what you desire because, what happens if you fail?! My solution to overcome fear of failure is to adjust how I think of goals. Instead of thinking of goals as a win or lose situation, I view them as targets. You might not hit the bulls-eye, but it’s the direction you are heading. Heck you may not even throw your dart on the dang dartboard! I hope you simply make the throw and when you don’t get exactly what you want, try again!
For me over the next decade, I’d like to write and publish a book, bring Best Money Class Ever to thousands of people across the country, hold quarterly live events/ conferences, design a line of paper planners, and have a show (podcast or videos!). YAAS!!!! I also wanna be a millionaire😊!
Onward to a new decade! Hello to the twenties!
P.S. You don’t have the figure this money stuff out on your own. Let’s work together! Get the details here.
