It’s OK, Go Ahead and Start Thinking About New Year’s Resolutions

Well it’s official, we are in the thick of the Holiday season! I think it is only natural to start thinking about the coming new year and all the things you want to accomplish in 2011. From a business standpoint we are working on our budgets and I just put my favorite meeting of the year on the calendar – strategic planning!

Maybe it is because I am in this business, but many of my resolutions point to financial objectives. Maybe it is saving for a re-model project at the house, paying down student loans, or a retirement savings goal – they all end up in some sort of goal  sheet!

I really want to encourage you guys to think about the pyramid I wrote about a few weeks ago. How is the base of your financial pyramid coming along? Have you created an emergency fund, are you living on a budget, and are you paying down debt? If not, why not give it a shot in 2011?

I know a bunch of you are saying right now, “I try this every year and by March I have already fallen off the wagon.”

Why not try something different this year?

Guys, I am really passionate about this – you will not be successful with your resolution to change until you take the first step to get some help.

We had our first class work through Financial Peace University this fall and it was a huge success. We asked some of our participants to write about the class and the way it impacted there lives. Here is an excerpt from one of those responses:

“I think sometimes there is a stigma about talking about finances, and that needs to be overcome. I talk about Financial Wellbeing to everybody I know. I want nothing more in this world than to pay forward what I have learned and how it has changed my entire life. There’s no shame in admitting your faults and overcoming them to have a great financial picture. Let’s face it; a lot of areas of your life depend on the financial component…

Financial Wellbeing is a priority for me because it affects every other aspect of Wellbeing. When you are failing financially, it’s more difficult to keep up with the other aspects of wellbeing….

Financial Wellbeing in particular takes a lot of time to improve, so measurement needs to take place in larger periods of time to be meaningful in nature. Some things can be done in short bursts, but Financial Wellbeing is a commitment for the long haul. I had a complicated situation, like everyone does, and Ronny taught me how to navigate it successfully. Now some of those initial hurdles are habits. In 2 years’ time, I have made progress that I never would have thought possible by reigning in my inner child and starting to think like an adult. If you really enjoy logging into your online banking site and just staring at your balances, that’s when you know you have made progress.”   - Stephanie Ransdell, FPU class fall 2010.

Our next class starts February 8, 2011. It is every Tuesday night from 5:30 to 7:30 for 13 weeks. Go check out the preview of the class: http://www.daveramsey.com/fpu/preview/ 

I really want you to get involved in this movement – it will change your life if you choose to dive in. If you have questions or want to learn more just contact us. We will be happy to talk with you!