Have you achieved your past goals, and now you’re ready to move on to something bigger and better? Or maybe you looked back and realized that your financial life could use a little structure in the form of goals to get the ball rolling again? It is typical to set goals at the end of the […]
- Habits + Goals
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6 Simple SMART Goal Templates to Make Goal Setting Insanely Easy (and Effective!)
SMART Goal Templates will help you goals the right way, so you can actually achieve them. There’s no doubt about it – setting SMART goals is the best way to make sure you actually achieve your goals. It’s amazing how setting SMART goals provides clarity as well as the focus needed to get the most […]
- Habits + Goals
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Conquer Your Goals: How To Set SMART Goals That Will Help You Get Shit Done
SMART goal setting will totally disrupt the vicious cycle of setting goals and then not achieving them. Have you ever felt like you’ve been working towards a goal FOREVER, but realize that you’re not getting anywhere? Reflect on the past four or five years. Is there a pile of new year’s resolutions, morning routines and […]
Budget Cheat Sheet: How to Make a Brand New Budget in 6 Easy Steps
Wouldn’t it be great if someone would tell you exactly how to create a new budget – for your first time, for the new year, or when your old one just isn’t cutting it? That’s what this post is all about – six straightforward steps that will help you put together your best budget ever. […]
5 Actionable Budget Tips for the Perfect Spending Plan
Do you want to create the perfect budget that is easy to follow and helps you achieve your financial and lifestyle goals? If you implement these five actionable budget tips, your budget this year will be better than ever. By perfecting my budget, I managed to pay off over $70,000 of student loans and save a […]
How to Simplify + Improve Your Budget in 8 Easy Steps
A better way to budget: a Spending Plan gives you a framework for how and where to spend your money in order to achieve your goals and live your life in alignment with your values. Want some background on what a Spending Plan is (hint: it’s better than a budget!) and how to create one? Read this post, Spending […]
Spending Plan 2018 – Save $15k, Invest $24k, Live on $1k per month
A Spending Plan gives you a framework for how and where to spend your money in order to achieve your goals and live your life in alignment with your values. Want some background on how to create a Spending Plan? Read this post, which discusses: The top 2 reasons to create and follow a spending plan (one is definitely […]
- Habits + Goals
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2018 Goals – Dream Board
I began the habit of creating a visual representation of my goals in the form of a dream board in 2017. I kept it in the cover of my planning binder to keep my aspirations front-of-mind every day. Below is my 2018 dream board. Related Posts: How to Make a Vision Board that Actually Works […]
- Habits + Goals
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2018 Theme – Meditation + Mindfulness + Minimalism & #ChallengeYear
I try to develop a theme for the new year. Some people suggest picking just one word, but I find that one word can never quite encompass my many ambitions for the coming year. So, this year, I picked four words. Beneath these words are my “why” and/or the “how” for the theme words. […]
- Career
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Healthy & Productive Habits + Getting a Promotion with Half the Required Experience
In this post, I’ll discuss: Habits I implemented in order to get a promotion with only half the required experience Productivity strategies I utilized to get a bonus even though my company didn’t give out bonuses this year The system I’ve used to start getting up earlier and getting into work more than an hour […]
2017 Review – $27k Student Loans Paid Off + $17k Saved + $950 Spent Per Month
In this post, I’ll discuss the strategies I used to: Pay off $27,600 of student loans this year; Save a $10,000 emergency fund in 4 months; Increase my net worth by $40,000 this year; Live on less than $1,000 a month, while traveling and enjoying life; and Save $6,900 for investing in 2 months. […]
Q4 2017 Financial Review – I saved $11,400 in 3 months!
In this post, I’ll discuss the strategies I used to: Live on $530 a month; Save $4,500 for my emergency fund, reaching a $10k goal in 4 months; Earn an extra $3,430 this quarter (and why that might not be a great thing); Save $6,900 for investing in 3 months; and, Why I’m investing […]
Q3 2017 Financial Review – $4k of Student Loans Paid Off + $5k Emergency Fund Saved
In this post, I’ll discuss the strategies I used to: Make my final $3,800 payment on $67,000 of high-interest student loans; Save $5,000 for my emergency fund in 3 months; Spend less on travel when I visited South Carolina and Cape Cod; Get a “like new” computer for less than $100; Live on $800 […]
- Afford
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I Just Paid off $67,000 of High Interest Student Loans in Less than 2 Years – and Saved $23,600 in Interest!
Goodbye High Interest Debt, and Good Riddance. There has been a giant smile on my face all week because I just reached a HUGE milestone in my journey to becoming debt free. On July 28th, I paid the final $3,815 balance due on the high interest portion – originally totaling $61,800 when borrowed – of […]
Q2 2017 Financial Review – $21,500 of Student Loans Paid Off!
Q2 was a great quarter — I put over $21,000 towards shrinking my $100,000 high mountain of debt! That’s over 20% of the total I owed when I graduated college. Quarter 2 (April, May, June) is where I try to learn from my Q1 Spending Plan Review and address my problem spending areas. I […]
Q1 2017 Financial Review – $2,072 of Student Loans Paid Off
Quarter 1 (January, February and March) is always the test drive of any Spending Plan. Frequently, in Q2 or Q3, things will change, spending categories will be added, and allocations will be shifted to accommodate the latest information. For the first three months, though, my aim is to stick as closely to my plan […]
- Afford
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Spending Plan 2017 – Pay off $31.8k of Student Loans, Live on $850 per month
A Spending Plan gives you a framework for how and where to spend your money in order to achieve your goals and live your life in alignment with your values. Want some background on how to create a Spending Plan? Read this post, which discusses: The top 2 reasons to create and follow a spending plan (one is definitely […]
STOP Budgeting! Do This Instead & You Can Spend Your Money AND Achieve Your Goals
Outside of the personal finance world, the b-word is a dirty word. No, not that word. I mean BUDGET. When someone says you should budget, you probably have visions of eating a bland peanut butter sandwich every day for lunch; having to shamefully text your friends that no, you can’t go for drinks after work, […]
- Habits + Goals
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The Only 2 Factors That Determine If You Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions
Photo by Karina Carvalho So we’re a month into 2017 at this point, how exciting! New year, new you… right? Since it’s a brand new year, have you made any lofty resolutions to overhaul your life? I have. However, in 2017, I’ve gone about it a little differently than in years past. This year, instead […]
- Habits + Goals
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Goals for 2017 – Dream Board!
This year I decided to create a visual of my goals in the form of a dream board. I first defined my goals for the year and a list of things that I want to experience or achieve. Then I wrote a list of words that represented these goals and achievements, and then I searched […]