The Power Of Writing It Down

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Just got this email from a reader of the blog. I think you'll appreciate it :)

I just wanted to comment about the power of writing goals down.

For the first time this year, I wrote down eight financial goals I wanted to achieve by the end of the year.

They were:

Pay off two credit cards (both already at 0%)

Save up and pay property taxes before due date

Create new wills and a trust

Go on a vacation (first time in four years)

Resolve an issue with my husband's last employer

Update both of our passports

And install a closet organizer in the den.

I decided to add the financial goals to the same spreadsheet where I track income and expenses, so I could look at it every time I'm in there (on and off all day). I also decided to number the goals in order of importance and time constraints.

I'm happy to report that, as of this weekend, the bills are paid off, the property taxes are paid (six weeks ahead of schedule), we already had the appointment with the attorney to write up the new wills and create the trust (we're waiting a few weeks for the drafts), I made reservations for the islands in May and paid the deposit, the issue with my husband's prior employer has been resolved, our passports are in the mail being processed, and the organizer was installed in the den!

Actually seeing the goals in front of my eyes several times a day, and every time I posted a payment, a bill and/or a deposit, really helped keep me on task. Similar to my "to do" list at work, I was constantly reminded of where my money should be spent.

I'm so happy with the results, I'm going to add a few more financial goals to work on (since there's nearly ten months left in the year).

F'ing love that. Look how much she's accomplished in only a couple of months?? And they're not all easy ones either. In fact, the goals themselves aren't even the important takeaway her. It's the *method* she used that's killer. In particular:

Writing the goals down
Putting it in a place you see several times a day
Numbering them in order of importance and/or time constraints

Perhaps after they nag you/excite you day in and day out you're more inclined to take action? Or maybe our minds are just too packed with info these days that the important stuff gets overridden and forgotten over time? Who knows…

Either way, this girl is killin' it, and I hope you take a few secs to consider doing the same. It may not be as magical for all of us, but we gotta keep trying out new ideas until we find the one that lights the biggest fire under us. Whatever gets us to our goals faster, right?

UPDATE: Be sure to check out the awesome comments below. There are some pretty clever tricks to helping yourself lose weight, and even pay off bills. Like making your passwords to accounts "Payoffbills" haha… Brilliant!

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[Hieroglyphics photo by kevingessner]]

Jay loves talking about money, collecting coins, blasting hip-hop, and hanging out with his three beautiful boys. You can check out all of his online projects at jmoney.biz. Thanks for reading the blog!