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How I Fixed My Financial Fiasco . . . and How You Can Too

23 July 2023

Think about that financial goal that you want with your whole heart, maybe it’s the car, home, rental property, retirement comfort etc. On a scale of 1 to 10, how badly do you want it?  When you look in the mirror, in 5 years, will your future-self say, “Thank you for making my dream come true!” or say, “Why didn’t you?” 

Here is my confession. This very thought scared me many years ago.  Things were so financially tough, that I was inconsistent with my savings, and this resulted in my finances being more like a fiasco.  However, the fear of regret forced me to change my financial habits BEFORE I felt ready.  

I’ll tell you what systems I used to enforce my discipline and you can use too. First let’s examine your finances, just as I did over a decade ago.  WARNING: you may feel uncomfortable.  Ready or not let’s go.  

Please give yourself 10 points for every TRUE answer and 0 Points for False

True/False
  1. I have a well-defined financial goal and a timeline to achieve it.

 
  1. I know exactly how much my financial goal will cost.

 
  1. Based on how much I save per month I know I will achieve my financial goal on time or ahead of time.

 
  1. My financial practices reflect the belief that I should save/invest first and pay bills after.

 
  1. No matter how busy life gets I am always consistent in adding a set amount to my ‘goal account’ because I have automated my savings or I just have really good discipline.

 
  1. No matter what, the bills and other expenses never take the money that I promised to save/invest towards my financial goals (e.g. home, car, education, retirement etc.)

 
  1. The money for my goal(s) is in an account that cannot be accessed with a debit card.

 
  1. Even in economically tough times I still save/invest.

 
  1. I realize that achieving my goals/dreams will depend more on what I save/invest than the return I can earn on my money.

 
  1. If I maintain my current financial habits, I have an excellent chance of achieving my financial goals

 
  1. I have an emergency fund in place that covers 3-6 months of my expenses.

 

TOTAL SCORE (N.B.  If you score less than 80 points you need to take immediate action)

 

 

 5 STEPS THAT FIXED MY FINANCIAL FIASCO

I could not continue along my dismal financial path.  So I kept on reminding myself of the speaker Lisa Nichols’ quote: “Conviction and convenience don’t live on the same block!” and therefore I created systems to keep me accountable.  Here are the systems I put in place and maintain even today.

  1. Scheduled a FREE Financial Goal Plan with JMMB: This helped me determined how I needed to save/invest towards my goal NO MATTER WHAT.
  2. Gave my goal account a name. This emotionally resonated with me and made my goal more tangible. E.g. “The home that has my heart”
  3. Automated my investment/ savings to ensure financial discipline. I created a standing order to transfer money into an account that was not easily accessible and which would penalize me for breaking it. This was easy to do online.
  4. Monitored my account’s growth. By using JMMB’s online platform Moneyline, I tracked my progress.
  5. Monetized my skills: When I was short on cash, I was forced to be creative and monetize my skills since I knew I “couldn’t” take the money from my goal. You have many skills and talents, tap into them.

 

My financial life didn’t improve because I was ready or because I could afford it.  It changed, and I achieved my dreams because I wanted my future self to say “Well done”.  If you want this too, please take the first step to call JMMB at 998-5662 for your free goal planning session. It’s easier than you think.

Written by: Michelle Sinclair-Doyley, Corporate Manager, Group Financial Partnership Support & Financial Education

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