Happy New Year!

I’ve always loved the idea of a new year as a time to start fresh and new.  It’s a great time to start a new habit or ditch an old one.  The new year is full of potential and possibilities!  I’m a firm believer in that it doesn’t matter much what’s happened in the past – you can’t go back and change anything so it doesn’t do any good to dwell on mistakes that were made.  Instead, the best thing you can do is acknowledge what has happened, learn from it, and decide that you’re going to do better or different going forward.

Life is all about learning, improving, and growing.  You can take the knowledge you gained from your experiences and use it as an opportunity for growth.

Resolutions vs. Habits

All that being said, I don’t necessarily subscribe to the idea of setting new year’s resolutions.  Why?  Because the process in itself sets you up to fail – therefore most resolutions don’t make it past January 31^st, much less a full year.  The truth is, it’s really hard to just “decide” you’re going to make a major shift in behavior and then go do it… and do it consistently going forward.  Most people don’t have that kind of discipline.  It’s the equivalent of going “cold turkey” on something. 

A better approach is to create a small change in habits.  Just start with a tiny shift.  Live with that for a bit until it becomes second-nature and you don’t think about it.  You just do it.  Then you can add another small change on top of that, and live with that for a bit.  Or expand your first habit into something slightly bigger.

A great resource on this topic is the book Atomic Habits by James Clear.  It’s become one of my favorite go-to books when I need motivation in this area.  It talks about the key to success is to get 1% better every day.  Not a major life-changing shift.  Just 1% better every day.  Consistently.

Consistency is the key to success.  If you do something consistently enough, it will become a habit that will become so natural to you that you won’t even think about it when you do it.

Tips for Success

Maybe your resolution was to not spend so much money in 2023.  We’re almost 10 days in to the new year – how is it going?  If you’re already floundering, or maybe you never actually started, here are some practical tips to set yourself up for success:

1. Get more specific.  How much less do you need to spend each month?  Without specifics, you can’t measure how well you’re doing and it’s easy to get discouraged.
2. Why do you want to spend less?  What is the overall motivating factor?  Having a clear “why” will keep you going when it gets hard and you want to give up.
3. How will you measure it?  The best way is to track your spending.  There are a lot of great apps out there that will connect to your bank account and help you categorize your monthly spending. Check out my favorite here.  Once you understand what is your “normal”, then you can identify specific categories to make changes to.

If this resonates with you, you might be a good candidate for my 30-day Debt Freedom Course.  It’s not just about debt.  It’s a great place to start when you’ve got a financial goal you’re trying to reach, or maybe you’re just trying to figure out how to get started.  You can find more details about the course by clicking here.  I’m cheering you on as you strive to meet your goals and make new habits that last in 2023!