You’d think as a personal finance blogger my goal this year would be money-related, but truth be told I feel like a schlub always putting money/blogging/entrepreneurship first. I tell people, and myself, that family and friends are priority #1, but my actions often say otherwise :( And it’s not something I want to see continuing, especially now that I’m blessed with two beautiful boys in my life.
It’s very much akin to one of my favorite sayings in financial management:
“Don’t tell me where your priorities are. Show me where you spend your money and I’ll tell you what they are” – James W. Frick
Only in this case, swap in “time” for money. So this year’s goal is all about living more while still tending to those financial and career-related goals in the background. And for those who like to hate on new years resolutions, not to fret – I’ve already started mine on December 1st ;)
(People like to say resolutions are lame because people wait so long to start them rather than acting right away, which may be true, but still – since when is working on a goal at anytime bad? If anything, you magically have MORE motivation around the 1st of Jan than any other day of the year! So why not use that to your advantage?)
Now, what exactly does “living more” mean? Well, for starters paying attention to my family more. But even more so than that, doing anything not involving a computer. I don’t care if that’s folding laundry, traveling, binging on skittles, skipping, dancing, collecting coins, or organizing my closet from top to bottom then moving down to the basement to do the same (that actually sounds fun!). The more time spent away from an electronic device – and specifically computers and cell phones – the better.
And as I’ve mentioned, I’ve already started implementing a few tricks to get me going:
- I no longer look at my cell phone during meals – particularly dinner
- I do my best to not look at my cell phone in the company of other humans (and usually I succeed – only to get annoyed at watching these humans then get on theirs! Hah!)
- I’ve been taking at least one night off a week from work (it’s not every night, but it’s a start)
- I’ve been working fewer hours over the weekend
- I no longer check email/twitter/my blog before going to bed
- And I’ve been making a conscious effort to *not think about work* as best I can when I’m not sitting down to actually do it. That’s the hardest one of them all since you hardly have any control of your thoughts (at least at this stage of the process… I imagine over time you get better at switching gears and forming a habit)
So pretty much it’s all about cutting out face time with electronics, and then filling that time with more substantial things in “real life.” That is, outside of what’s necessary to keep a thriving business or career going of course. I very much want to continue blogging to you lovely folks every day, it’s just that it need not consume me anymore. I’ve heard people call this “balancing?” ;)
That’s the goal for the new year anyways, and 1 month in I’m feeling pretty hopeful. Looking through my past resolutions, however, it seems those more focused on “life” don’t stand nearly as good a chance as those revolving around “money,” haha…
My Past Resolutions:
- 2000: Have better handwriting (F)
- 2001: Have better handwriting (F)
- 2002: Have better handwriting (F)
- 2003: Have better handwriting (F)
- 2004: Have better handwriting (F)
- 2005: Have better handwriting (F)
- 2006: Have better handwriting (F+)
- 2007: Have better handwriting (F)
- 2008: Start a budget and learn more about money in general (A+)
- 2009: Pay off car loans, blog better, write more hand written letters (B)
- 2010: Max out retirement accounts? (A+)
- 2011: Work for myself for 12 months without applying to a job (A+)
- 2012: Work 50% less, but make 50% more (C)
- 2013: Keep stuff simple (A)
- 2014: Start acting like an “adult” (A+ until baby #2 came, then D+)
Lots of green (just like money!), but plenty of red too. Still, if you don’t have a life what’s the point?
Now, pray tell, what are your goals for the new year? And more importantly, who wants to have a closet organizing party tonight?? ;)
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[Photo cred: youngthousands]
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“Live More” is a pretty good one! Funny enough, ours is somewhat similar this year.
We want to do more local / regional travel in the New England area. We’ve lived here for 7 years… and I only now feel like we’ve done most of the Boston area touristy things. So one weekend per month we’re going to try and be native-tourists.
Usually it will be a day trip, but there are some spots a bit farther afield that are on our list as well. Can you believe we have never been to Acadia National Park? Some of our friends here *literally* gasp when we mention that.
Anyway, good luck to your away from the screen “live more” quest. Sounds like you are on the right track! We generally have a rule that there are no screens at the dinner table or in bed… but if I was being honest I’d say we don’t always hit that mark. Probably a good thing to double down on. Cheers!
Love the new travel idea on the weekends! We tend to do shorter trips with the kids having nap times and schedules and all that stuff (I feel so old for saving that!), but we can surely do more new local things for sure. I’m going to put it on our “board of ideas” at home and see what percolates :) But first – to go make a board of ideas! HAH!
Our resolution is kind of similar, J Money! I have boiled mine down to three words: LIVE, LEARN and LOVE.
First, LIVE. My goal is to put a greater emphasis on experiences. I already cut out screen time by not having a television, so my goal is to visit more of the destinations (many of them free) in my new city and surrounding it. I also don’t want to limit this to weekends. My goal is to break the Monday through Friday routine of work, eat, sleep and repeat.
Secondly, LEARN. I’ve been in a career rut for the past several years. I have a great job, but I’m not learning anything new. My goal in the new year is to start learning again Last year,. I took a free online course on nutrition. That was a good start. Now, I want to focus on learning things that relate to digital and social media in order to grow my blog.
Thirdly, LOVE. I want to make sure the people I cherish in my life know it. With Facebook, Twitter and texting, it’s easy to just send quick messages to check in with family and friends. Now, I’m putting the focus back on in-person meetings.
Happy New Year and best wishes to you and all of your readers with their resolutions!
Yeah man! face-to-face is the new twitter ;) And I think the idea of breaking up the work week like that too is freaking brilliant. Who says we only have to do cool $hit over the weekends?
When I was a little kid I saw a mouse in our laundry room and being a conscientious seven year old I left a warning note to my family “there’s a mouse in the laundry room.” Except that my messy handwriting made it look like “there’s a moose in the laundry room.”
My family still makes fun of me. I die a little bit when they tease me. Not really. I think I am over the embarrassment of it. Forty years later. I even added the handwriting faux pas to my book.
Goals for 2015. Work part time (I like my full time job but I need more time) and write part time and live off the proceeds of working and writing. So far the revenue from writing pays for my contents insurance bill, about $18/month. It’s a start!
Awwww, that’s cute about the mouse/moose mix up :)
So I’ve been failing at this one already. I left for a vacation on Wednesday and literally have been GLUED to my computer and phone the whole time. But NOT today- I’m going skiing! (Imagine me on a chairlift with my laptop, haha)
Hm, resolution would be “whine less.” It doesn’t help anything. Goal? $10,000 in profits from my side hustle. Just over double last years!
I gave up whining for Lent once and it was bad ass… Every time I caught myself, or my wife caught me, I had to put in a dollar into a jar. At first it started filling up but then I got SO GOOD at catching myself and what a difference! I of course have slipped some since then (this was years ago) but I swear I’m much more conscious about it now than ever before… It’s amazing how often you catch others whining too when you start paying attention more. And usually it’s about nonsense.
Great goal. Read a quote this week. “Your employer soon forgets the long hours you put in. Children never forget memory-making moments.” – So true. I’ll big goal is to build wealth. Kicking our retirement saving up to 15%.
Damn! How true that is!
I never pull out my phone during face-to-face meetings unless the other person does first or if I’m looking something up pertaining to our conversation. I try not to check during family dinners either but I’m usually the first one up and putting my plate away… though I tested that last year when I was secretly texting my boyfriend under the table and got caught.. oops. 0:-)
Goals for this year are try to save 80% of my income… right now when it’s easy being single. My expenses are bare bones so the only way to do that is earn more. Just kicking off a career so we’ll see but it’s a challenge to myself :) Oh, and live more, too.. which is part of why I quit my last job to pursue this career path. It was a great company with amazing benefits but I realized quick I’m not a 9-5 desk person and I was already starting to get miserable. Freedom, for me, is happiness. I plan to travel, volunteer more in my community, and get back to riding some horses… and what’s awesome is that doing these things will build my social network, which will ultimately also help me in my career (real estate).
Happy New Year!!!
YES! Love! 80% is no joke too – dayum girl!
Oh man, I love this! This is how I’ve been feeling over the past little while – like I’m letting life pass me by as I have my head down and work so hard on my new site. I get so engrossed in something that I don’t even know when my husband has said something to me. I’ve been constantly thinking about work and Unsettle for months and it’s unhealthy.
This is an awesome goal, J$!
One thing that really cut down on my phone use when I am out with others is the fact that I cut my data plan. I just couldn’t stop using my phone and serial-checking my email and Twitter and Facebook, so I removed the trigger.
Woah – that’s a great idea actually, good for you! And I’m glad you found this post helpful – let’s win this together, okay?? Computers off and brains on our loved ones a little more every day until we’re rock stars! :)
I love this one. Except that your goal is about your life and, in my book at least, it is about money again. Just distribute your focus so that you do everything with the single mined concentration of a drug addict (sorry, but as concentration goes addiction is a great example). When you hustle, hustle as if you have no family; when you play with the boys play as you have no hustle going at all. This is how I survived :).
Also, I love your second bullet point: don’t check your e-mail in the presence of humans. I’ve lately extended this to canines: I don’t check my e-mail when I’m with Suzy the Dog. This way, we both have better time in the park :).
“When you hustle, hustle as if you have no family; when you play with the boys play as you have no hustle going at all.”
Words of wisdom right there mamma. I like it.
I like how you give your goals a grade instead of a pass/fail. I might have to steal/borrow that one. I have a bit of a similar philosophy in that if you work on your “whole” self, the positive spending and savings habits seem to follow naturally. So working on happiness means less of a desire to spend to keep up appearances. Stuff like that. One bad habit I have is checking my cell phone literally the second my eyes fly open in the morning. Seems so simple to stop yet it’s so tempting! I think your goals are great and I wish you the best success with them!
I used to do that too :) And now I literally have to think to myself “If something bad is in there, do you REALLY want to deal with that right now?” And the answer is always no, haha.. So I wait until it’s time to work for real so I don’t stress out :)
I’ve started paying attention to my cell phone “usage” in general. I had been annoyed by the short battery life, so I spent time going through all sorts of tutorials to find out what was sucking my battery life. Then it dawned on me that the problem was ME! Obsessively checking things is zapping not only by battery life, but my LIFE. I was never in the moment with my family – only with twitter. What an epic WASTE.
So, yeah. I’m going to have better cell phone battery life in 2015, because a phone left unchecked will make it through the day without needing a charge.
What a freaking GREAT way to think about it, man… You are good Sir. You report back tomorrow and tell us how much batter is left, okay? ;)
My motto for this year is “Enough.” My thoughts have been similar to what you’ve said here. I want to spend more time enjoying what I have, and less time pursuing more money, more recognition, etc. My family lives on a take-home pay of $3600 per month, and you know what? That’s enough. We’re saving what we need to, bills are getting paid, we have a home and full bellies. My husband has a pretty good job that he enjoys, or at least doesn’t mind. We have enough, but I haven’t been acting like it. So instead of obsessing over blog stats and SEO and social media and trying to prove myself, I’m going to read a damn book if I want to. For fun! Maybe I’ll get back into one of my hobbies, like painting. I used to do all kinds of interesting things. I’m not giving up on blogging, just pulling back and doing it for fun.
“Enough” is one of the best words in the dictionary. As soon as we fully embrace that (and, I mean FULLY EMBRACE) we’ll always be chasing the better stuff out there which never ends AT ALL. Good to have ambition and up the career/money/yada yada yada. But even better when you know you have enough and it’s all extra :) So I hear ya loud and proud, sista! Work it!
My resolution is to make personal financial planning available to the masses in an accessible and non-judgmental environment. I will be hitting the ground hard raising the money for this in early 2015 so hope to have the beginnings of this in place by the Fall. Wish me luck!
Go go go!! We’re cheering you on!
I love your New Year’s resolution, J. Money. I vowed to do the same when my friend’s father was killed in a robbery last month. This past month, I’ve spent more time with the family, a little less time on money, and even had a date night (the first in months) with my wife. It was a great start! I plan to live even more in 2015.
Oh wow. I’m so sorry to hear man, what a wake up call indeed :( Good for you for re-focusing!
This is great, J! It’s something I struggle with – not so much with my day-job… I’ve somehow managed to tune that out in “my time”. But since my blog is an extra, it seeps into most every part of my evenings/weekends/family time, and I need to stop letting that happen so much.
PS, is your handwriting that bad?! And you still couldn’t make it better? :)
It’s actually okay if I slooooooow it down and take the time to write the words out one by one (and capitalizing all words help!) but usually I’m always in a damn rush to get it out that it looks like my 2 year old wrote it! That’s the other thing about “living more” – it separates you from the fast pace that is the internet/social media and helps slow things down more! :)
Great resolution. It’s so important because you’ll never get these moments back with your kids- cliche, but true! Keep that phone in another room during dinner ;)
Is a closet organizing party a party where you’re in the closet about your desire to organize? If so, I’m in! (and my friends will tell you I’m WAY in the closet about organizing….I’m a disaster…..).
Haha… I say whatever gets you to join me tonight, let’s go with that one :)
I love your goal. My published ones are mostly financial, which will be difficult since the online business has slowed down a bit over the last year, BUT I’m going to jump on your bandwagon too. No more cell phone checking unless alone.
Good! And here’s a little trick – if you need to quench the desire here and there, just “go to the bathroom” and take a quick peek, haha…
I actually like organizing things and sorting things, so a closet organizing party sounds kind of fun to me. I know, I’m crazy (or lots of people think so, haha). I have a few goals this year, including working out in the morning to save myself more evening time for free and paying off some serious debt. Best of luck to you in finding balance. That’s a great goal.
We have pretty typical financial goals, with a big one being to jump in to a rental property.
On the personal side we are trying to get in better shape, expand our garden, read 52 books this year, and get to know our neighbors. Also want to explore our own city/region than we have so far.
52 books a year???? Who are you, super man??
I think I’ve finally come to the realization that I’m pretty much addicted to my cell phone. My plan is that next month when my contract is up I’m going to downgrade to a dumb phone. I think this will help, since dumb phones aren’t nearly as fun as smartphones :-). This will also save us money on the monthly phone bill! Double bonus.
There you go! Or better yet – switch to Republic Wireless and keep your smartphone, just go with the $10/mo plan so you can’t access internet away from home ;) Or, rather wifi…
Haha, nice goal on the handwriting.
The phone is a real addiction for sure. But it is so FUN!
HNY!
My goals are going to be your 2008-2010 goals. All financial, all-the-time for now as I’m only just getting my financial house in order. Well, and fitness/fatness goals. More of the former than the latter, I hope.
I have managed the cell phone goal at dinner and my wife is more likely to follow my example as a result, so that’s nice. It’s hard, since we’re workaholics, though. Seems like a lot of personal finance bloggers are workaholics/reformed workaholics.
“All financial, all-the-time”
I think you need to make bumper stickers :)
New Year’s goals!!!! Yeahhhh!
Mine for 2015 are:
Get life insurance
Grow my own edible garden
Make my earth footprint smaller (going to try to make my trash output smaller by composting)
Max out my 401k!
Simplify my beauty routine
All random:P I was so close to maxing out my 401 last yr but my contribution rate wasn’t actually adjusted when I did it in Nov. Boo on my 401k company.
Still! Getting close to maxing out is better than 99.9% of those around you! You need to celebrate that bad ass’ness, girl!
I want to quote some of your nakedly true words, “You don’t necessarily need a high paying job to grow your wealth (although it sure helps!). What you do need, however, is the discipline to not spend all of the money you make.” This is #3 of the habits that made you a millionaire at 27 and they ring true to me. I moved to Texas from Italy in 2010 and finding a job was extremely difficult, but a miracle happened in October 2012, I got a job on the spot while I was grocery shopping. I was hired as a cashier, $8 bucks/hour, no benefits. I was ecstatic, I didn’t care if what I was getting from a previous life was more than 2 times higher, with all the benefits in the world that one can imagine. All that matters is I have a job and when I say that your words rang true to me, it does, because in my 17 months of working (I quit in April 2014) at that store, I managed to save 4 thousand dollars. Seems impossible? Well, you mentioned DISCIPLINE and you’re right, I have that, and what I do also is to be conscious of what I want between what I really need. But, oh yeah, now I’m in trouble not because I did not stick with my principle, but because I dropped my guard and lost focus. I quit my job because I thought $8 bucks/hr, no benefits, with an irregular schedule, just do not justify the quality of work I am delivering. My initial goal to add a couple more thousand to my bank account to be able to take my hubby for a vacation to my native land was totally wiped out from my system, yes I am a moron, a big one at that!
Now, I’m in trouble because I’m now broke. Broke as in BROKE. It’s now the tenth month that I’m jobless. So my New Year’s resolution is to QUIT comparing myself with others. If ever I get a job I’d discipline myself to totally ignore discrimination at work as long as I’m getting paid. And secondly and lastly, I’d copy yours which is to ‘live more’. Since I quit my job I’ve been spending all my time with my computer looking for ways to earn a buck, I am too absorbed (morning, noon and night) in researching, doing online courses, attending webinars, listening to podcasts, blah, blah… that I no longer have time for my hubby and daughter. I couldn’t thank you enough for your post, I seem to have felt a bucketful of ice-cold water poured over my body when I read it.
Enjoy your boys and happy new year.
Awwww, well a) thank you so much for reading and the kind words! (though admittedly I didn’t right that “millionaire by 27 post” although all the other articles are mine ;)), and b) I think it’s SO GOOD you can look back and know yourself so well like that. Yes decisions were made that didn’t work out well, but you’re on it now and ready to learn from them and move on. We all do stupid stuff or we’d be robots :) So keep going!! You’ll find your next place in life when it’s time!
My handwriting is terrible… sometimes I can’t even read it myself so I can understand your goal of improving your handwriting.
Live more is a great goal. Be present and enjoy the moment.
…So was the closet organizing party your idea? :) I actually did not have any new year’s resolutions until 12/31 after returning from lunch with a good friend. I was reflecting on our conversation because when we get together we are ALL over the place. We start one story, go sideways to another, with a reminder to finish the first one. There are usually 15 different threads going on at any one time and somehow we get through all of them At one point I was lamenting reading article comments of certain types of articles because they break my heart. I mean literally tears in the eyes, lump in the throat. I never reply although I want to, but there simply is no discoursing with ignorance. My friend told me that one day her colleague said, “Don’t you know that the comments section is the no zone?” I laughed hard and we moved on. As I was reflecting my resolution came to me. I resolved not to read the comments section of certains types of articles. The pain is not worth the feeling of being “informed” about other perspectives. I gave in once yesterday, but am happy to say that I am 1 1/2 days clean. :). P.S Live more is the perfect resolution. May you royally succeed. And did your handwriting finally improve? :)
That’s a BEAUTIFUL plan of yours! At least the comments in such places as Youtube and EVERY POLITICAL SITE IN THE WORLD, haha… People love to hate on each other and the internet makes it 1,000 times easier. I can’t even read articles on personal finance from some of the larger sites anymore as someone ALWAYS has to find a way to $hit on it all to help make themselves feel better. It’s ridiculous. People find a way to argue just about everything these days, and if you’re not in the mood to get feisty and start a (never ending) debate, then yes – you’re much better off ignoring completely :) At the end of the day all that matters is that YOU’RE in the know, right?
Not thinking about work when you are actually away or not doing it is really hard. I’d suggest just let it be or be natural ‘coz it reminds you things to do. And I also suggest you not to work especially on a Sunday to give you relaxation and free time to do anything aside from work. Just enjoy! You have six days to do it….
That’s a good idea actually. I read somewhere once that going a full 24 hours without work every week can do wonders for your output too. It would be good to be able to pull that off!
J$,
I’m with you 100%. If you can’t enjoy the journey and have a life along the way, then what’s the point? Why bother? It’s tough for some of us to balance life with work, especially when life and work are almost one and the same. Blogging, especially about something so intertwined with our lives as money, is a gift and a curse in that regard. But focusing on the money isn’t bad either, since more money buys more options and freedom. Keep fighting the good fight! :)
Best regards.
You too good sir :)
I haven’t made is as a resolution, but I do try to spend QUALITY time with my family. I have a 11 month old daughter and I spend as much time with her as possible, even if it means not too much time for business or other things. I won’t get back these years though, the business can always grow, but she’ll never be a baby anymore :D
Amen!
In the midst of all of the hustle and bustle we sometimes forget about now. I am also focusing on being conscious about each moment and being 100% tuned in when I’m with people. We are all so distracted.
I think fear of boredom is what keeps people tied to their screens. Best wishes with staying in the present. Difficult, but worth it. I work on it daily. How else will I be a successful vandweller? :) Love your F+ up there, by the way. :)
I agree the boredom fear can be high. I left my phone at home the other day on purpose when running some errands, and it was nice to just *think* whenever I had down time waiting in lines or at the lights, etc… we don’t have to fill up every free moment with a screen!
I think you’ve just summarised the whole point of FI and financial freedom – which is to have a better quality of life (not the other way around). For me, I’ll intensify my efforts this year and have more fun!
YES! DO IT! We’ll motivate each other! :)
I’m glad to read this article about your New Year’s Resolution: LIVE MORE. Many great tips and insights here. Thanks for sharing this article. It’s such a great post.
Great question. (And by the way: I get the same – failing – grades for improving my handwriting:).
I am dedicated to becoming a really good writer and kung fu practitioner. My business activities are designed to support them!
Hah! Two completely opposite things – I love it :) And if you combine writing ABOUT kung fu – BAM!
So… did your handwriting ever get better? Haha
Take a guess ;)
… so what happened in 2006 that resulted in the F+ in handwriting???
My resolution this year was to stop spending so frivolously, since i barely broke even last year, and that was with a cut in the hours i’ve been working starting last summer. It went surprisingly well in January, but the last couple months haven’t been so good. But since I wrecked my car a few weeks ago, I’ve really cut down on spending since I know I need to replace it. (life advice: hitting the possum will do less damage to your car than ending up upside-down in a ditch. it will also be much less terrifying. also thank GOD i always wear my seat belt)
Ouch – so glad you were safe after that!
Have you tried doing a “no spend” month? Where you can only spend $$ on bills/food/necessities? That one challenge for me changed my whole outlook after doing it 7 years ago. Not only have I since been saving $200/mo from what I learned (mainly – don’t go to the mall when you’re bored!) but it totally changed my habits and mindset. I’ll still splurge here and there, but it’s always *consciously* now.
(And the F+ was due to me writing all in CAPS which improved legibility :))