Is the resolution working? Then try this

Is the resolution working? Then try this.

  They say the percentage of people who achieve their resolutions are about 8%.  You may be thinking this is going to be one of those blogs that will fire me up to work harder to achieve my resolutions or one that reminds me that I have failed once again. I can throw out statistics that say if you do A+B=C every time (yeah sure it does, NOT)   you will do better.  We have been smothered with work harder, do more, do it better, that when we fail we say, well I guess I am just can’t change.  Well we do know if we quit we do not have to measure up to everyone else that seems to be succeeding.  One reason I love the gospel is that I was not good enough, and Jesus fixed that problem for me! No more having to do better, I get to do better!  You don’t have to do better at whatever your resolution is, but you get to do better if you want.  Don’t compare your problem, your progress or your success to someone else.  We all move at different speeds and handle things differently.  If you have ever taken a DISC profile you know that we have different personalities, and react differently in life situations. One of the animals they use to describe different personality types is a lion for the strong type A personalities.  For the more stable and lower keyed faithful types they use a golden retriever.  We all know that a lion and a retriever will react differently and handle things differently.  Neither personality type is wrong, they are just different. We need all the different types in our lives! 

So what should you try?  Whatever your resolution is write it down and create steps, baby steps, to achieve it.  Don’t make it to large, such as I am going to get my finances straight. That is very broad because you are dealing with, saving, spending, getting out of debt, paying off the mortgage, retirement, college etc.  That can overwhelm you when the Christmas bill comes in and it will make you want to quit on your resolution.   Start in one area, if all of the areas overwhelm you. Start with just a budget. Write down everything you will spend and try to trim those numbers. The big thing is to try and stick to the number you determine to spend and track it. A budget takes about 3 months to begin to work right, so stick to it. Make sure you spend what you save wisely, savings or applying it to debt.   Sit down at least once a week and see how much you have actually spent vs. what you have written down.  Depending on your personality, you can either live on the bare necessities or trim things slowly but surely.  The more you sacrifice the faster you reach your goal. But if you don’t like the idea of going too fast you may sabotage yourself and quit before it works.  Go at a speed you can handle.  You did not get into the financial shape you are in overnight and you will not get out overnight.  Be patient and take one step at a time.  Let me know if you want my help.

     Let me know if I can help!

Tim West

Go West Coaching 1-11-14

Money Problem If we are having a money problem do we need more of what we are having a problem with? Would it be like being in a tornado and wishing a strong wind would come along and blow the tornado out? Sure if we were having money problems and someone gave us a lump sum amount of cash it would help out temporarily. But I have said this along with others, if I ever get out of this situation I will never let it happen again. Then some time later we find our self in a similar situation. So how do we change a money problem or any problem in our life and not return? With a plan! We most of the time get into these situations by not paying attention to what we are doing and follow the banks financial plan they have for us. So I suggest that we learn how to handle a little money and manage it so we can learn how to handle a lot. If we cannot handle a small amount and do irresponsible things with it, we will just do it on a larger scale with more money. If you are having problem weather its money or something else make a detailed plan and start from where you are at and determine where you want to go. It’s just like unpacking a suitcase, one item at a time. Sit down and spend every dollar you have on paper and follow your plan out. Get yourself in good shape so you can handle more if you get it. Remember it’s a life style not something you will just do for a few months. Let me know if I can help! Tim West Go West Coaching

Master Your Budget Part II

Master Your Budget Pt. II
4-13-11


Well the Masters Golf tournament is over and it was great, if you like golf. So this week let’s try to finish off mastering your budget. We stated last week that personal finance was 80% behavior and 20% head knowledge. Our first step was to sit down with your spouse or an accountability partner and plan your budget. Our second step was to determine what is most important, such as food, clothing, shelter, transportation and utilities etc. Always pay the most important first, these are your necessities.

After you have determined how much you bring in and how much each item costs start allocating the money. Now once you set the budget it is the boss of you, so don’t steal form the gas category to get a cheeseburger and fries. Your goal is to have a zero based budget. A zero based budget means income and outgo should equal zero. Every dollar should have a place to go such as groceries, gas, blow money, savings etc. If you tell it where to go it will be there when you need it, as long as you stick to your game plan. Now here is a critical step, you MUST track what you spend. Most of the time we do not know how much to budget because we have never done it before, this is where tracking your expenses will help. When you track them it gives you an exact number so you can budget better. If you don’t track them it will be a guessing game every month. If you don’t know exactly how much to budget for some categories, you may want to fund it a little heavy, such as groceries and gas. The way gas prices go up they should have an odometer on the pricing sign. Don’t worry it’s easy to forget stuff like birthdays and children’s activities; you will get better at it as you go. One thing that sneaks up on you every year is Christmas and the Thanksgiving grocery bill, try not to for get them. Don’t worry; no one budgets perfectly every month. It takes about three months before you budget starts working out smoothly. I guarantee you it will not work if you don’t do one and track you’re spending. Once you get the hang of it you can do your budget in 20-30 minutes with no problems. Feel free to email me with any questions. Start to master your finances. Budget forms

Tim West
Go West Coaching