January 9, 2024 | Posted in News
DETERMINED IF THAT’S RELATED TO WHAT HAPPENED. ALL RIGHT. WE ARE ONE WEEK INTO THE NEW YEAR IN SO MANY OF US ARE ALREADY STRUGGLING TO STICK WITH THOSE NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS. I KNOW I AM, AND IT’S ESPECIALLY TRUE FOR THOSE OF US WHO MAYBE MADE RESOLUTIONS TO FINALLY GET OUR FINANCES IN ORDER. SO HERE ONCE AGAIN TO HELP US OUT IS MEGAN HAMMOND. SHE’S THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCIAL PLANNING AT WEALTH QUEST, AND THANKS FOR BEING HERE AGAIN. WE ALWAYS LOOK FORWARD TO IT BECAUSE IT’S IT’S A POSITIVE CONVERSATION. THANK YOU. I’M GLAD. I’M GLAD TO BE HERE. THIS WOULD BE A GOOD ONE. GOOD POSITIVE DOES NOT MEAN IT’S NOT DIFFICULT. RIGHT. SO THAT’S TRUE. WHY IS IT SO HARD, MEGAN, FOR MOST OF US TO STICK TO OUR FINANCIAL NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS? WELL, I THINK IT’S HARD TO STICK TO ANY NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION, WHETHER THAT’S HEALTH OR FINANCE OR ANY OTHER TOPIC. AND I THINK ONE OF THE REASONS FOR THAT IS IT’S REALLY HARD FOR US TO FOCUS ON FINDING THE RIGHT GOAL OR THE RIGHT RESOLUTION FOR US AT THIS SPECIFIC MOMENT IN TIME. AND WHAT I TYPICALLY SEE IS, IS THAT GOALS ARE SET AT ONE END OF THE SPECTRUM OR THE OTHER. SO THEY’RE EITHER REALLY SPECIFIC. I WANT TO HAVE THIS NET WORTH BY THIS TIME LATER THIS YEAR, OR I WANT TO MAKE THIS AMOUNT OF MONEY AT THIS POINT IN TIME OR I WANT TO BUY THIS SPECIFIC THING OR WE’RE ON THE OTHER EXTREME AND IT’S SO VAGUE, I WANT TO SAVE MORE. I WANT TO SPEND LESS. I WANT TO PAY DOWN DEBT. AND THE PROBLEM WITH EITHER ONE OF THOSE EXTREMES IS THAT WE DON’T HAVE THE ABILITY TO FEEL THOSE SMALL WINS THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS, THROUGHOUT THAT JOURNEY, AND SO IT’S A LOT EASIER FOR US TO FOCUS ON THE HURDLES AND THE STRUGGLES THAT WE’RE FACING. AND SO WE END UP GIVING UP ON THOSE GOALS A WHOLE LOT SOONER THAN WE WANTED TO. AND IT’S HARD. IT’S HARD WHEN YOU’RE IN DEBT AND YOU STILL WANT TO HAVE A FUN LIFESTYLE OR DO THINGS WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY. SO WHAT CAN WE DO TO MAYBE MAKE IT EASIER TO REACH THOSE GOALS? ABSOLUTELY. I THINK WE NEED TO CHANGE OUR PERSPECTIVE, AND THIS IS GOING TO SOUND A LITTLE INTERESTING, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS MISSING IN EVERY ONE OF THOSE GOALS THAT I MENTIONED WAS MOTIVATION. AND SO, FOR EXAMPLE, IF WE WANT TO PAY DOWN DEBT, NOBODY REALLY WANTS TO PAY DOWN DEBT, RIGHT? THAT’S THAT’S A GREAT GOAL. BUT THAT’S NOT REALLY WHAT WE WANT. BECAUSE IN ORDER TO DO THAT, WE HAVE TO SACRIFICE. AND WE MIGHT HAVE TO BE UNCOMFORTABLE AND MAKE SOME HARD CHOICES, BUT WE DO IT FOR A REASON. AND SO WHAT IS THAT REASON? DO WE WANT TO DO, YOU KNOW, MAYBE TRAVEL MORE OR WE WANT TO HAVE MORE FLEXIBILITY IN OUR MONTHLY BUDGET, OR MAYBE WE WANT TO WORK LESS OVERTIME SO WE HAVE MORE TIME WITH OUR FAMILY. THAT’S OUR GOAL. PAYING DOWN THE DEBT IS THE ACTION THAT WE TAKE TO GET THERE. AND WHEN WE CAN REALLY IDENTIFY WHAT THAT GOAL IS, THEN WE FIND THAT MOTIVATION AND WE ARE ABLE TO TO SEE THE PROGRESS. EVEN IF WE DON’T GET ALL THE WAY THERE, WE’RE ABLE TO SEE THAT THE STEPS THAT WE’RE TAKING AND IT KEEPS US MOTIVATED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, RIGHT? YEAH, THAT’S REALLY GOOD. MEGAN, HOW DO WE FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT GOAL SHOULD BE? WHOO! THAT’S A HARD ONE. AND THAT’S REALLY INDIVIDUAL. FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL PERSON. IT’S GOING TO BE DIFFERENT. AND SO WHAT I WOULD ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO DO IS REALLY TO SIT DOWN EITHER WITH YOURSELF IN A QUIET MOMENT OR WITH YOUR SPOUSE OR YOUR LOVED ONE AND THINK ABOUT THE WORDS THAT YOU WOULD JUST DESCRIBE YOUR YOUR FUTURE LIFE AND DON’T THINK ABOUT, I WANT TO TRAVEL HERE OR I WANT TO DO THIS. THINK ABOUT THE WORDS. SO I WANT FREEDOM. I WANT SECURITY, PEACE OF MIND, SPONTANEITY, FLEXIBILITY, WHATEVER THAT IS. AND THEN WE CAN USE THAT AND WE CAN THINK ABOUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR ME? SO DOES FINANCIAL FREEDOM MEAN THAT I HAVE MORE CONTROL OVER MY TIME AND MY SCHEDULE TO BE ABLE TO SPEND IT WORKING, OR WITH MY FAMILY. OR DOES SPONTANEITY MEAN THAT I CAN WALK INTO A RESTAURANT OR A STORE AND I CAN BUY SOMETHING WITHOUT LOOKING AT THE PRICE TAG? OR THAT I CAN TRAVEL ON A WHIM? SO WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THOSE MOTIVATIONS ARE AND REALLY WHAT’S DRIVING THAT. AND THEN WE CAN THINK ABOUT THOSE ACTIONS TO GET THERE, WHETHER THEY’RE SMALL OR BIG STEPS. YEAH, ALWAYS A WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE AS WE SAY EVERY SINGLE TIME. MEGAN HAMMOND FROM WEALTH QUEST, THANKS SO MUCH FOR BREAKING THAT DOWN FOR US AND BEING HERE AT THE START OF THE NEW YEAR. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. GLAD TO BE SAYING TO MEGAN RIGHT BEFORE WE CAME ON, I SAID, I DROPPED YOUR NAME LAST WEEK BECAUSE I WAS TRULY REMEMBERING SO MANY OF THE THINGS THAT YOU’VE SAID TO US, BECAUSE IT REALLY IS HELPFUL AND, AND APPLICABLE IN OU