There seems to be a correlation among people having a lack of organizational skills and problems with money. If your finances are disorganized, you do not have a very good chance to succeed. A lack of organization can cost you dearly. Not being organized could result in a late payment and dings on your credit score that could cost you dearly over your life time. There are a few simple things that you can do for those that struggle with organization. Make a list of all the bills that need to be paid for the month as well as their due dates. As you pay off a bill, mark it off. Also, if you have a healthy cash flow, it is a good idea to put all of you payments on automatic. My wife and I have been doing this for years and we absolutely love it. Always remember to keep you finances simple. There are two main tools that we should all use to keep ourselves not only focused but organized. Those two simple things are to track your cash flow and to track your net worth. There are spreadsheets that I can provide if you would like. Send me an email and I can send you the appropriate tracking tools. My email is amortimer@prospering.com.

A funny but true lesson in personal finances.

This week Lorin shares another impressive testimonial from our great students.

I am sure that it comes as no surprise to you that the biggest and, I believe, worst excuse I hear from some of my students is they were not able to get there homework done because they just did not have the time! As one financial coach puts it, “you make the time for that which is important to you.” One of my students, we will call him Joe, once made this excuse. When we started to look at all of the things that he did for the week. We found that he had spent about three hours that week watching TV. He had also spent about 2 hours surfing the web. When we went through everything that he did we found that he had wasted about 10 hours of his time in areas that were not necessary. As my mentor would always say, “successful people and unsuccessful people have the same 24 hours in a day, the difference is how they use it.” There are two main things when it comes to time management. First, make sure you write down what you need to get done that way. Second, make sure you do the most important things that day before you do anything else. I have found that this is one of the most important factors. Successful people are disciplined to do the most important things first. Doing the things that you have to get done is not always fun but it is critical to your success. You can prioritize what you need to get done. Write done all of the things you need to get done for the day and for the week, then rank them on a scale from one to ten on the level of importance. Make one the most important and ten the least important. Never let the tens choke out your number one priorities!

Remember, there are the two things that are going to help you get more into your day.

Write it down

Do the most important things first

How many times have we set goals with good intentions to complete the goal but we end up not following through with that goal? How do you make your financial goals stick. It is all about making it an every day part of your life. Make it a routine. Set a specific time aside each day that you are going to work on at least one goal that would make a significant difference with your finances. It is a good idea to let at least one person know what you are trying to do. Invite them to hold you accountable for accomplishing your goals. This will help you follow through with what you set out to do. Remember to always set SMART goals. Smart is an acronym for SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE, ATTAINABLE, REALISTIC, TIMELY. Make sure that all the goals that you set, the big ones as well as the small ones follow the smart acronym for goal setting. I have found over the years that many people do not like setting goals. The reason for this I believe is that they do not know how to set goals properly. If you set proper goals, and you make them habitual by having someone hold you accountable for those goals, then goal setting can be a very enjoyable process. Make sure that you take your goals seriously and you make the time to make them stick! Find that one goal that is going to make a big difference four you and your financial goal and work on it until it becomes a habit or you have accomplished what you have set out to do.

This week Lorin shares another great and inspirational testimonial.