random thoughts

So it’s a new year. Which means a new round of goals. No, not silly resolutions that you don’t take seriously. It’s time for you to sit down and spend a few minutes (if not hours or days) and think about what you want to achieve and what you actually can achieve.  Here are the guidelines I used for last year and this year.

• Your goals must be specific.
• Your goals must be measurable.
• Your goals must have a time limit.
• Your goals must be your own.
• Your goals must be in writing.

I used the following categories and tried not to put more than 5 or 6 goals in each category.

• Spiritual
• Physical
• Intellectual
• Career
• Family
• Financial
• Social

So I did this for the first time last year. I sat down and wrote out my goals at the beginning of January for the entire 2016 year. I tracked them in a spreadsheet and marked them off throughout the year as I achieved them. It was an interesting experience. I learned that some of my goals I listed were too easy, some were too vague, and some were too difficult to achieve. Sometimes I would look at my goal list every week, and other times I would forget about it for a few months at a time. I started with 26 goals for 2016. When I did my final calculation I realize that 2 of them were too vague and I ruled them out.

For 2016 I completed 14.1 of my 24 goals. Only a 58% completion rate. While you might not think that is good, those are completed specific goals. Not pipe dreams of “Well maybe next year will be better…” or “I wish I could do X,Y,Z…” Those are things I chose to pursue and accomplish. Many I did accomplish. A lot of goals that I didn’t complete are partially completed and some of them have become more specific goals for 2017.

Some of my completed goals for 2016 include the following:

• Completed a 3 month workout program and exercised 6-7 days a week. (P90X3)
• I got a raise.
• I submitted a warrant officer packet.
• I taught my kids specific skills.
• I took 3 trips with my family.
• I saved a specific amount of money.
• I obtained my CEH certification.

For 2017 I have created 17 specific goals across the above mentioned categories. Some categories have less and some have more than last year. I’ve tried to balance them with what I forsee my situation being in 2017 to include variables such as a new baby, active duty time, moving, etc.

A few of my goals for 2017 include the following:

• • Obtain my CISSP certification.
  • Commission as a Warrant Officer.
  • Read 10 fiction books and 5 non-fiction books.
  • Tweet 30 times a month.

Those are just a sample of them. Some are more serious, and some are less serious. I would encourage you to do the same. People who are successful have goals. Not dreams. As the saying goes, “A goal is a dream with a deadline.” So get out there, work hard, set some goals, write them down, track them, and crush them! The only thing holding you back from being successful is the person in the mirror. So get after it!

Later,
Derek

So after a few blogs on politics, let’s change gears. Let’s talk about money. Something everybody knows something about. Everyone has an opinion. Many people don’t want to deal with it or understand it. But just like knowing how to change a flat tire, or change your oil, if you have some basic knowledge you can be ready to deal with pop-up emergencies and keep your money working for you like a well-maintained engine. Ok. Enough car analogies.

So the basics:

I like money. I want/need more of it. How do I get it? How do I manage it to be successful? Here are 5 simple tips that are easy to say, and hard to implement.

1. Live on less than you make.
2. Don’t borrow money.
3. Save Money.
4. Prioritize your spending. (Budget)
5. Give money.

1. Live on less than you make.
You’ve probably heard this before. But it makes sense. If you live on less than you make, it allows you to follow principles 2 and 3. This is easier said than done. But principle 4 is required to succeed at this step. You’ll have to adjust your lifestyle to match your income. This can be a hard pill for some people to swallow. The “I deserve” mentality that people have, and that creditors market so heavily can be deeply ingrained in people. Like it’s a foundational doctrine in their life. If you have ever spent time oversees in other countries, you can often realize that you don’t necessarily need all that stuff to survive and be happy. You can adapt to your income environment. If you don’t like the level of lifestyle that permits, then go out and change it! You can go work harder and earn more money.  My first tech job started at $14 / hour in 2008. That’s just over 29k annually. That wasn’t good enough for me and my growing family. So I worked harder, earned promotions and moved to better paying jobs. I don’t want to brag, but I make good money now because I continue to work hard and improve myself. Thus companies value me more and pay me more. No need to blame the economy for your income. Your work ethic can overcome a crappy economy. I am proof of that.

2. Don’t borrow money.
Do everything you can to avoid debt! I wish I had learned about this sooner. Often times the largest part of you monthly outgo is to debt payments. Student loans, cars, mattresses, etc.  When I started earning more money, I realized I wanted to be done with debt. Me and my wife had about 30k each in student loans! I was tired of so much of my monthly income going to Sallie Mae or Visa. I’d rather spend that money on my family or save it for something cool like a vacation or motorcycle. It took over 7 years, but we paid it all off. We paid off the last 45k in two years alone.  Not having stupid payments has really allowed me to do principles 3,4, and 5 much more efficiently. I’ve learned, I’d much rather save up for something and pay cash, then finance it and deal with the stress of payments, and interest. You really can do it!

3. Save Money.
This is another common sense thing people “know”, but don’t do. When you save money, it makes dealing with “emergencies” way less stressful. I know my property tax is due each year in December. So instead of waiting till December and going, “ah, crap!” I put $30-$50 a month in an envelope for that throughout the year. Then when the bill comes due, I’m ready for it. This year, I over budgeted and had $50 left over after paying that bill. I haven’t decided if I wan’t to leave it as a head start on next year’s property tax, or use it for something fun. But it’s my choice and I have that flexibility because I saved for it. Novel concept I know. But it works and it’s awesome! Same thing with car tires, car registrations, vacations, kids baseball season, etc. You can plan ahead and save money for these things. Saving money in 2016 has allowed me to cash flow a roof replacement, and cash flow a vacation to DC and NY. I was also able to plan ahead for Christmas presents so no credit card was needed for that either. I’ve got some active duty time coming up in 2017 and I know my income will be much lower compared to my civilian job. Guess what I’m going to do? Complain? Well probably a little bit, but I’m already planning for that and starting to save money so it won’t be a huge strain to deal with the change in income. I haven’t talked about 401k’s and Roth IRA’s yet. Those are both excellent tools to save for retirement. I’d highly recommend learning about them and using them to save money long-term. I’ve really enjoyed learning about investing over the last few years.

4. Prioritize your spending. (Budget)
Uh oh. I used the B word. But it shouldn’t have such a bad rap. It shouldn’t be feared. This is the single most important tool to be successful with all these principles. Having a budget is not difficult. Yes it does take time. Yes you will make mistakes. Yes you do spend that much money at QuikTrip. But it gives you so much visibility into where your money goes and your spending trends. It really allows you to analyze past performance and use that data to plan for future months. I’ve been using budgeting software for almost 4 years now. I switched about 18 months ago to YNAB (You need a budget) software. I love it. It has allowed me to be successful in paying off debt and saving money as well as realistically planning for the month ahead. I recommend using a zero based budget. I plan for each month individually. I adjust throughout the month (subtracting extra money from gas to add to groceries envelopes for example) and then reconcile all the envelopes at the end of each month to correct any over-spending. This is fixed by taking the money from another envelope vs a credit card. I also use envelopes to save for bigger expenses. I have a house maintenance envelope, and a car tires envelope that I put money into. Not every month, but when I can I contribute money into it. Especially if I know I will need new car tires in 8 months, I make that a priority to contribute to that envelope so that when it comes time I already have the $500 or so that I will need for new tires. No emergency! Just a normal errand to run that I have the money to do. This also equals less stress. Rinse and repeat, scale up and down as necessary for your money goals. It really does work. You just have to do it. Over and over and over again.

5. Give Money
This is another part of money I’m starting to really enjoy. Managing my money better has allowed me the opportunity to give more. I am able to support causes and organizations that I want to. I was able to double my Christmas budget from last year and give people more gifts. Being able to help people out by giving money is very rewarding. It’s often more rewarding that accumulating more stuff. Give it a try.

So there you have it. My 5 money principles for success. Have I mastered them all? Nope. Do I still make mistakes? Yep. Has being intentional with my money allowed me to be successful? Absolutely. I’m a huge budgeting nerd, so if you have questions feel free to ask me. I’d love to talk money ideas with you and help you be successful with money as well.

Reference material and helpful links:

ynab.com

everydollar.com

mint.com

https://www.daveramsey.com/baby-steps

Intentional Living

Later,
Derek

I keep mentioning the idea of wanting to write more. I definitely feel that I have things I can contribute to the world. Some of that is through writing. I’m a creative person naturally and love to create ideas, videos, music, etc. I tend to hesitate to create because it involves putting your ideas out there and waiting to see if people like/understand/approve of it. This fear and hesitation has held me back quite often from putting my creative things out into the world. So I’m working to overcome this and start creating more. I’m moving towards the attitude of not caring about your opinion of my work. If you like it, great! Share it, comment on it, etc. If you don’t like it, that’s ok too. When you create passionately, you are going to get people who don’t care for your work, don’t like it, don’t agree with it, etc. But at least you are being authentic to the creative process.

In short, I’m going to try and write a lot more. I’ve got thoughts, ideas, and opinions to share and I’m going to attempt to make them coherent, articulate and interesting. I’m going to try to avoid just name calling and mud-slinging with ideas or people I disagree with.

I have many ideas and projects in the development phase. I’ve actually decided to challenge myself to writing a book. I have two ideas. One for fiction and one for non-fiction. I’m already 4 chapters into writing the non-fiction book. It’s way harder than I ever thought it would be. But it’s exciting.

Stay tuned for more future content.

Later,
Derek