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Happy 2019! With the New Year comes new intentions…a reflection on the past year and a setting of intentions (resolutions) for the year ahead. I’m sure by now you have your financial intentions set and in place.  Yes? Maybe? No? Well, for those who do not, or might need a boost or tweaking, the following are three things you can do to help prepare your finances for a bit of housekeeping this year.

• Reflect on the past year.

First and foremost, take a look at last year. Simply spend some time reflecting on what worked well and what did not. Did you incur debt? Pay debt off? Increase your Net Worth? Reduce it? Have no idea what a Net Worth is? Do you feel like you had a handle on your spending? Or did the year just disappear in a blur with very little control over where your money went? Do you have enough insurance? Savings? Investments? Did your money go towards necessities last year or did you invest in yourself? Your family? Did your money create stress in your life or bring you joy? Get an overall sense of last year. Celebrate your accomplishments and choose one or two areas that you feel didn’t quite live up to your expectations.

• Set your intention for this year

Here are some examples of intentions that you might set based on your reflection of the last year:

• Reduce your outstanding debt (notice I didn’t say ‘eliminate’ it) -  Although that may be a wonderful resolution or intention, it may not be realistic. Reducing your debt, however, is very realistic. You can go deeper and set a specific target if you would like or simply leave it open.
• Become more aware of my spending habits - This could involve starting each month with a plan or tracking your expenses on a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly basis. You may want to utilize a tracking app. Your bank may provide an in-house program or you could use a free app such as Mint to do the work for you. Simply review where you spent your money on a monthly basis. I promise the rest falls into place with this one simple process.
• Invest in myself - This is a wonderful intention that sets the stage to spend your money in a way that brings you joy. So, for every money action (purchases, savings) you ask yourself, “Will this bring me joy?” It helps cut back on frivolous, meaningless spending and focuses on directing your money to more meaningful places.
• Put in place a system to monitor your progress or, at the very least remind you of your intention throughout the year

The most common challenge when setting up your plans for the New Year is keeping on track. With today’s technology it is so easy to set up a system to remind you of your objectives.

• Set a reminder on your phone or computer with a daily repeat. It pops up, you see it, mark it complete for the day and it pops back up the next day.
• Look for pictures that represent what you want to accomplish. Save them on your computer as the backdrop (or screen saver) and/or your phone’s wallpaper. It’s the current version of a vision board.
• Or, create a vision board. Perhaps as a family if it is a family intention. Put it somewhere where you will see it regularly. As you accomplish something, note it on your vision board.
• Start a 2019 journal. On one side record your “celebrations” and on the other side your action wish list. Check in daily or weekly or monthly. Whatever works with your schedule.
• Create a buddy system where you work on your intentions together and check in regularly, maybe over coffee one a month. Make it fun!
• Join a group of like-minded people and create a 2019 Intentions Mastermind group to keep you focused and on track. Set regular meetings, review your progress, share your challenges, motivate and learn from each other.

Whatever you do, it starts with that one first step. Take that one step today and be kind to yourself. “You don’t have to accomplish everything, you just have to accomplish something.” Wishing you all happy healthy finances