Welcome to the Financial Fitness University, 5-Day course on personal finance and spending management.
It is often said that the first step in overcoming a challenge is to acknowledge that there needs to be a change. By signing up for this financial fitness e-course, you have decided to make a change – Congratulations on taking this first step!
Let’s get started!
Sometimes the most difficult part of any worthwhile journey is just getting started. Often the tasks ahead seem daunting—even impossible. If you break down the tasks into manageable pieces, however, you can more easily achieve success – so let’s take this one day at a time, one task at a time, and we will achieve success together.
In today’s lesson, you will work through activities that will help you understand your current personal financial position and lay the foundation for successfully achieving financial fitness moving forward.
The following check list will help you keep track of the tasks you should complete during today’s lesson:
- Make a commitment to change your financial direction
- Read Financial Fitness – Its not about hitting some magical number
- Take the Financial Fitness Quiz
- Set your personal financial goals
- Make a commitment to spend less than you make
- Read the Money for Life E-Book
- Read the Money for Life Success Planner E-Book
Make a Commitment to Change Your Financial Direction.
First – Let’s make sure you are ready to shed your old financial habits and replace them with new and improved habits.
Becoming financially fit will require you to break from our old thought processes in order to forge new habits and behaviors. You must have the courage and commitment to make these changes. You must be prepared to win the battle of the mind before you can move on to the battle of the checkbook.
Read and commit to the following statements showing your commitment to change your financial direction and become financially fit:
I/We will evaluate my/our old thought processes and be prepared to make necessary adjustments in my/our thinking where appropriate.
I/We will evaluate my/our existing financial habits and behaviors and be prepared to forge new habits and behaviors where appropriate.
Financial Fitness— It's not about hitting some magical number
By Steven B. Smith
What does it mean to be Financially Fit? First let’s ask, ‘What does it mean to be physically fit?’ For some, being physically fit means having the strength and endurance necessary to win a marathon; for others, it is simply to finish. While some want to be able to compete at a professional level, most agree that being physically fit means having a level of fitness necessary to look good, enjoy a healthy life, and be able to participate comfortably in the activities they like.
There is no predefined point at which we suddenly become physically fit. Physical fitness is more about being on the right path and doing the right things from a diet and exercise perspective than reaching some magical point in time. However, having specific and attainable objectives that provide motivation for continual improvement is very important. Otherwise, we may struggle with direction and find it difficult to stay on the right path. Read the entire article...
Set your personal financial goals.
The Financial Fitness Quiz should have helped you to focus your thoughts on the areas in your financial life that you would most like to change. Understanding what these areas are and then making a commitment to change them is a very important step in achieving success.
For some tips on effective goal setting, read Tips for Successful Goal Setting, simply click here to view the article. Next, write down the things you would most like to change in your financial life. Some examples are as follows:
- No longer living paycheck to paycheck
- Having the money saved for your next vacation before you leave
- Having the money saved for holiday expenses before the spending is required
- Paying cash for your next vehicle purchase
- Reducing or eliminating consumer debt
- Saving for long-term spending requirements, including college and retirement
- Being able to travel without going into debt
- Having money set aside for emergencies
- Creating and living within a budget
- Purchasing only those things you can truly afford
- Working together with your partner to achieve financial goals
- Eliminating the fear, uncertainty, and doubt surrounding finances
- Having the peace and happiness that comes from knowing you are financially fit
- No longer spending more than you make
Write down a list of your personal financial objectives—things in your financial life that you would most like to change, or achieve:
Make a commitment to spend less than you make.
While financial fitness is not contingent on how much money you make, it is contingent on how you manage and spend that income.
For the majority of people, managing our spending and keeping our financial house in order is a constant challenge. We spend a great deal of time and energy worrying about running out of money, paying the bills, and increasing our debt load.
Many people have the desire and even the knowledge necessary to be financially fit; They just simply haven’t had the right tools to be able to accomplish it. In today’s world of financial excess and convenience, we have many methods by which we can access and spend money; We, however, have not had an easy way to track all this spending or a tool that helps us plan ahead. Unfortunately, without these tools, people have continued to overspend, increase their debt, and then move on to the next month – often without even realizing what they have done.
If you want to become financially fit, the first thing you need to do is stop overspending. This sounds simple, but for most, it’s anything but. The fact is, if you don’t have the right tools, including a spending plan, you will continue to struggle with overspending and debt accumulation.
Being financially fit is a realistic goal and one that everyone – regardless of income – can attain. Make the commitment to spend less than you make on a consistent basis and you too can reach financial fitness.
The Online Financial Fitness Quiz will calculate your results for you. Simply click here to take the quiz. If you would rather download a printable version, just click here to do so.
Download the Money for Life E-Book
All of the principles discussed above are included in the book, Money for Life. Download the e-book version so that you can find out more. (1.54 MB)
"Thank you very much for this little jewel of a book. I didn’t think that a book on the subject of budgeting and finances could be as enjoyable and informative as this one. It was such an easy read. I understood the lessons, and then I immediately shared it with my bookkeeper and told friends about it. I look forward to using the Mvelopes Personal System."
Donna Yerman
Download the Money for Life Success Planner E-Book
Many of the worksheets, forms and exercises in the 5 day e-course are included in the Money for Life Success Planner. Download your free e-book version now so that you can find out more. (5.36 MB)
Coming up in Day 2, of the Money for Life Financial Fitness University – 5 day spending management course, you will get the opportunity to create a Net-Worth Statement and learn about the envelope method of budgeting.
See you tomorrow!