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Financial Journey
(featured column)
9 Steps to Achieve Financial Fitness
by
Karen Kuebler
As I have been
focusing on lifestyle changes to become more physically fit in recent months, I
realized the same tools apply to acquire strong financial health. With many
lifestyle changes, the steps to succeed aren’t complex, but the persistence
and commitment to follow them are critical. More...
Let’s take a look at how you can apply the
same principles that it takes to lose weight and achieve strong physical health,
to create sound financial fitness:
- Eating
less calories than you expend is the cornerstone rule to losing weight.
Your expenses must be lower than the money you bring in to get ahead
financially. The extra cash at the end of the month should be applied to
paying off debt and increasing your savings accounts.
- Many
experts claim that exercise is the one thing, if done consistently, that
will help you lose weight and maintain weight loss. There is a reason many people refer to exercise as
"working out." It
takes effort, motivation, and sacrifice to exercise regularly.
However, the payoff is huge – not only the feeling of wellbeing
that occurs directly following the workout, but the long term benefits of
maintaining good physical health. So
it is with your finances. To
get your financial situation strong and healthy, it requires effort,
dedication, discipline, and all of the things that it takes to get into a
regular exercise routine. Your payoff will reap benefits both in the near
term and the long term as you eliminate the burden of debt and create wealth
with regular savings.
- A
success tactic in losing weight is journaling your food intake daily. Key to
financial success is tracking daily expenditures by recording every penny
spent. You need to know exactly where your money is going to gain control
over your spending.
- Planning
a daily menu in advance helps you avoid impulse eating and takes the guess
work out of choices that could lead to unwise decisions in moments of hunger
and fatigue. Developing a
spending plan is the equivalent of menu planning. Sticking to a spending
plan will prevent unplanned and impulse expenditures. It provides a roadmap
to follow and keeps you on your path to success.
- To
achieve a healthy lifestyle, you must fuel your body with a wide variety of
nutritious foods to maximize nutrients. As you work toward your financial goals, it is important
to diversify and choose healthy investments to maximize returns.
The saying "don’t put all of your eggs in one basket" is
a sound rule of thumb. When one
investment is doing poorly, diversification can protect you and help keep
your rate of return more stable.
- Educating
yourself to achieve a healthy lifestyle is necessary to succeed. Learning
how to read and understand nutrition labels and knowing what your body
requires are basics to achieve desired results. Self education is critical
to attain financial success. Absorb
all of the knowledge you can. Read
articles about investments, listen to financial news, and search the
internet to find sites that provide financial investment information.
Ask questions of experts in the field and take in the information they have
to offer. Educating yourself will give you much greater control over your
financial destiny, while helping you to choose investments safely and
wisely.
- Losing
weight is less daunting when you set smaller goals along the way.
When you accomplish each goal, the success motivates you to continue.
Approach your financial journey the same way. Focus on short term
milestones, while planning and looking ahead to long term desired results.
With any lifestyle change, create a reward system. Celebrate
achievement of shorter term milestones.
This helps prevent feelings of deprivation, while motivating you to
pursue future goals.
- Losing
weight is much easier if temptations are removed from your surroundings. Rid
your pantry and desk drawers of junk food and replace them with nourishing
choices. To gain control over
your spending, rid your environment of temptations.
Toss catalogs in the garbage immediately and avoid window or pleasure
shopping. If you shop on the
internet, stay away from browsing. Only
shop for items that you have a need to purchase, whether online or in the
store.
- When
developing a healthy lifestyle, quiet time to balance and renew inner self
is essential. So it is with
creating financial stability. Allow time to review your spending, your
goals, and progress regularly. Make
necessary adjustments to keep balance in your financial life so that you
will find your journey to be fulfilling – this is what will help you to
stay the course for the long haul.
When making changes in health habits to
become physically fit, true victory comes as a result of a permanent lifestyle
transformation. Success isn’t
achieved by going on and off diets, but by an ongoing commitment to maintain the
changes you’ve achieved. The same
principle applies to your relationship with money and achieving financial
success. You must be resolute in
adopting new ways of managing and transforming your financial life to realize
the financial future of your dreams!
* * *
Copyright
© 2007 by Karen Kuebler. All rights reserved. Want more
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