In September, I notice people starting to get back into their routines…back to school, done with vacation and ready to buckle down and start working again. This makes it a great time to recommit to those things you flaked out on all summer!
I always say, financial management isn’t about being perfect 100% of the time, it’s about the practice of returning to a routine. And I would rather spend 30 minutes a week catching up then have a “session” a few hours per month.
It’s true that we all have emotional, energetic and mental obstacles that prevent us from showing up fully for our financial lives in every way…but regardless of those obstacles, you just have to commit to starting imperfectly. It’s perfectly fine to:
- Get started on Mint and ignore it for a month
- Set up a savings account and only put $25 in
- Choose some random funds in your employer plan just to get started
- Round up to the next full dollar amount on your debt payments, but have no idea when they’ll be paid off
The point is, you made an effort…now the key is recommitting and returning.
Additional Guidance
Rather than coming up with brand-new ways for people to ease into management activities, I am linking here to some of my most-visited posts when it comes to getting started with financial organization and management.
Getting started and basic steps:
The most important factor in wealth building
Your Financial Management Spring Cleaning Checklist
Taming the paper tiger (or e-tiger) of financial management:
The Absolute First Thing You Need To Do To Get Financially Organized
Actions This Week
- Make a list. What are the top 5 financial things you’d like to take care of in the next week?
- Use your calendar. Schedule one task per day…you’ll find most only take 15 minutes.
- Schedule a review. Set a reminder in your schedule weekly to keep going through this process. If anything feels too overwhelming, you have my permission to defer it for a month.