[Music] hey guys so what if I told you that you don't have to make New Year's resolutions this year uhhuh as I feel great did I just free you well listen having goals it is very important when it comes to Building Wealth but when it comes to achieving those goals my hot take is that resolutions aren't always the best way so today we're going to unpack that and I'll also share a step-by-step plan that you can follow to achieve your money goals this year but before we dive in make sure to subscribe share this episode with a friend let's get to it so first can we just take a minute and appreciate the fact that Fresh Starts even exist yeah listen the new year just creates new opportunity it feels like a clean slate it always feels like we can do something different this year I can change do something bigger and better like there's just something refreshing about a clean start so always remember regardless of where we are in the calendar it is never too early or too late to make a change but always in the New Year it's a good time to start all right let's jump in to my hot take on opting out of New Year's resolutions okay resolutions are great people do it all the time it's like again this idea of okay we're going to transform this part of my life and I'm going to you know have a resolution out there but in 2023 research showed that only 9% of Americans completed their New Year's resolutions resolutions feel more just like a trend you know it's like oh yeah we're just going to do that thing cuz everyone's doing it and it doesn't like stick it doesn't stick but what sticks are habits and James Clear always writes about this I think it is so important is that he talks about you actually becoming the person you want to be right now so instead of being like Oh yeah I want to do this you are the person that does that right and as the words of T Swift they said babe you got to fake it till you make it and I did because sometimes you just have to become that person so if you want to become debt free you are someone who doesn't use debt anymore right and then you use a process to get out of debt or if you want to be generous you are a person who is generous that is who you are it's not always what you do but when you start with an identity it is easier then that the outflow of that identity is your actions which turn into who you are which are your habits so I think that is such a great point and I love that idea of habits because again it's more like second nature it's who you are and so that identity piece is really really big and there are some you know bad financial habits some things that are in us from an identity standpoint that I want out for you you know you may say well I I've never been good with money that's just not my thing or you know no one taught me about this stuff growing up so this is just who I am this is what what my life is going to be or I'm bad at math so like I'm never going to be able to do a budget like those identities need to change in order for you to win financially that you are somebody that may not love to budget but you are a budgeter right like you you can change and shape those parts in you and then the outflow is great money habit so be thinking about that because I think it's really really key now I'm excited to share some more about these great money habits but first I do want to tell you about Christian Healthcare Ministries just about everything costs more these days so if you're looking at your health care options during open enrollment check out Christian Healthcare Ministries chm is not health insurance it's a biblically based Health C sharing Ministry that's helped hundreds of thousand thousands of families like yours with health care costs without sacrificing freedom and you can join chm at any time like now so learn more at chministries.org budgets that's chministries.org budgets so the first thing to remember when you're trying to ditch bad habits and incorporate better ones is to add an element of excitement to your new routine this is so helpful so maybe you download a podcast or listen to an Audi book on your daily walks think about even reading your Bible if you want to um you know dive into that more and study it more grab some colorful pins and you know make some notes in the margin like do something that is different it doesn't have to cost a lot of money but to set yourself up for Success do something different and again I I was talking about audiobooks earlier but that's something I've done I'm trying to get my steps in it's my new thing is walking and I find it to be so much more enjoyable when I'm listening to something podcasts like over and over again it's like like you're learning a lot and I'm always like sometimes just feels like a lot so I've learned audio books it's like amazing amazing great ones Thrillers romance I don't care but just having a story being read to me as I'm walking makes it go by faster so whatever that new habit is whatever that thing is maybe it's with your money or not have some excitement in it okay that's really going to help you with that change all right let's talk about seven habits that you should be prioritizing when it comes to Building Wealth and these habits are actually more like steps and we call them the baby steps so if you're not familiar with this and maybe this is the new year that you're changing uh what you want to do with your money this plan is so helpful so the first step is to get a $1,000 emergency fund baby step two is to pay off all of your consumer debts by doing the debt snowball which is paying off the smallest debt First Once all your Consumer Debt is gone then you're going to bump up that starter emergency fund to 3 to 6 months of expenses that's baby step three now once those are done you're going to move on to four five and baby step four is funding 15% of your income into retirement baby step five is funding kids college baby step six is paying your house off early and then once that's done you move on to baby step seven and that is to build wealth and be extremely generous so this is a plan that can be really helpful for you to get on track with your money have some goals and get control of it this new year and obviously this logic can break down if spending money is the only thing you're doing to achieve a new goal so I don't want you just like spending spending spending spending on all your new goals sometimes you need a goal of maybe saving money or doing something different you know I had a goal of running a marathon I hate running I can walk I hate running and I went and like bought all this new gear to train for this marathon and I ated it and I quit and I was like yeah that doesn't like even though it's exciting and like I got something new it didn't fulfill me long term right so again don't feel like you have to go spend all this money on your new habits or your new way of life just just you know dip your toe in and then if it keeps going and going and going then maybe you you spend a little bit more on that but ultimately your behavior change has to come first now if you're looking for more ways to change your behavior around spending make sure to check out the every doll budgeting app this is an amazing tool we have a free version and a premium version but this is going to help you when it comes to your financial goals specifically to stay organized to get control of your income it is so key to do a budget you guys every single month so make sure to check out every dollar I will leave a link in the description so you can check that out so developing new habits you guys it is very important when it comes to money but that's half the battle so to be sure that you're ditching the bad financial habits that are holding you back check out this habit is keeping you broke a great episode you can click here or if you're a podcast listener click down below and listen there all right you guys remember to take control of your money and create a life you love
