Here’s what happened when I offered the people on my email list an opportunity to have a FREE End-of-Year Financial Assessment…
First, I got confirmation of what I know to be true about money, but I suspect we all forget from time-to-time: money is never just about money!
Sure, I had lovely conversations with people about money. But, really, the crux of each call was about what matters most to them, and focused on HOW to use money as a tool to help them achieve their goals and fulfill their dreams.
Second, I noticed that saving was a challenge for most. But not for the reasons you might expect.
75% of the people with whom I talked didn’t meet their 2015 savings goals.
For some, the reason was purely economic – like living paycheck-to-paycheck or being unemployed or under-earning. But for others, it was largely due to one thing: lack of specificity.
There’s a difference between saying, “I want to save more,” and saying, “I want to save $(fill in the blank) within the next 90-days or 12-months.” The former is abstract; the latter is concrete; the difference is measurable!
Here’s the link to download the template of questions I used with everyone to go through their end-of-year assessment. From their answers, I was able to identify at least one (1) financial leak, one (1) financial opportunity and one (1) action step they can take to address their finances – now or in the New Year.
I wonder what you’ll discover from answering the very same questions; what will you notice afterward that you didn’t previously as it pertains to your money management style and your habits?
I’d also be curious to know if you share this in common with the folks with whom I chatted: Knowing what you want is not the same as having a financial strategy and system to get you what you want.
That was my third observation from doing this year’s End-of-Year Financial Assessment.
Even those for whom the assessment confirmed they are making all the right moves, from our call, they discovered they could really take their financial management to the next level if they were a tad-bit more strategic and systematic!
Take 15-20 minutes this weekend to do your own end-of-year financial assessment: Click here to grab your copy of the questions.
p.s. Can a coloring book help you get out of debt? I weigh in on this new phenomenon here.
p.p.s. For a lively conversation about holiday shopping tips from Adam Levin, hip-hop artist, June, and me, tune into the Lisa Evers “Street Soldiers” show on HOT 97FM, FOX5NY at 7am on Sunday, December 6th! Or, click here after 8am.
