I don’t make New Year’s resolutions anymore.
Nothing against those of you who do make resolutions, but to me, making resolutions can be really discouraging. “This year will be the year that I finally stop…” All too often, it becomes a recipe for discouragement sometime around January 10. “Ugh…once again I failed…” And after enough years of this, I don’t want to do that anymore.
So, while I do look at a new year as a chance to reflect and make changes, I’m not going to make any resolutions. Instead, I will be setting goals for 2018.
Why goals instead of resolutions?
Goals are great. They give me (or you, or whoever) something to strive to achieve or change, only without the feeling of total failure when I make a bad choice, fail to live up to the lofty standards I set for myself, or just totally blow off whatever it was I wanted to do or change. With all that said, of course I don’t want any of those moments of falling short of my goals, but I know that when (not if) they happen, it won’t be an utter letdown, only a minor setback.
There are only days/hours left until 2018 as of this writing (assuming I publish in time). What are your goals for the coming year? There are lots of areas in which people might want to make financial changes. For example, here are just a few:
Budgeting. Do you have a budget? If not, you probably should. If you have ever been through Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University, you know how strongly Mr. Ramsey feels about zero-based budgeting. Knowing where every dollar is spent shouldn’t be constraining as much as it is empowering. And that’s where the name of his recommended budgeting tool, EveryDollar, originated.
Saving. This seems obvious, but it’s definitely not an easy thing to put into practice. But it becomes easier when you are directing where every dollar you bring in is going. Simply decide when you are creating your monthly budget how much you are going to set aside. If you are working for an employer* which offers a free match for retirement plan contributions, take advantage of that, as much as it is possible with your budget/income.
Time Management. There are lots of things you could be doing when you aren’t at work.* I don’t just mean ways to earn money online…there are a lot of things to do that don’t involve the internet. Your family would probably love your company. Heck, go outside.
But with that said, if you are looking for ways to make money online, I highly recommend prioritizing the methods you use. Now, that priority may not be the same for each person. Some people like to make extra money using surveys. Others like cryptocurrency faucets (though I’ve stated my opinion about this before). Your mileage may vary, but the big recommendation is simply not to waste your time. So many so-called opportunities are simply scams. Do your research, or learn the way I usually do: from mistakes.
Those are good, generic starting points. And, of course, you don’t have to wait until the next new year to start any of these. Every day is a new day, a new chance to try something different, particularly if what you are doing now isn’t working for you.
My 2018 Goals
But, with that said, I am writing this at the end of December, and while I am not making any resolutions (as stated above), I have my own goals for 2018 and beyond. My specific goals for this coming year, at least with regard to my financial situation, are:
- I would like to post on this blog at least twice a week.** I have a lot of ideas, but I am not taking the time to flesh them out into worthwhile posts.
- I want to diversify in cryptocurrency. I may not care much for faucets (though I intend to write more on that topic fairly soon), but I do own some Bitcoin and others. Sure, Bitcoin is down a little at this writing (which I attribute, at least partially, to end-of-year profit-taking), but it’s way up from when I first got into it (which was actually thanks to a survey).
- And, in case this wasn’t obvious, given that I am a working dad, I want to continue to improve at the day job. (No, I’m not going to go into what that job is right now.)
There are other goals, but they are relating to other areas of my life.
So, what are your goals for this coming year?
* As a reminder, this site is designed for the working dad, but everyone can benefit from this particular advice.
** The other half of that goal is that I want to write one post a week on my other, very unrelated, website.
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