You could possess all the financial knowledge in the world but still find yourself broke. That’s because knowledge is useless until you put it into action.
Unfortunately, this is exactly where many of us fail. We know exactly what we should be doing, but we just don’t ever get around to doing it. We’ve too often become so accustomed to our financial circumstances that we lack the motivation to make the necessary changes.
To guarantee financial success you have to crush the inertia of doing nothing. It’s said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. But, you must take that first step, even if it’s a baby step, or you’ll never arrive at your destination. Let the small steps build upon each other until you eventually find yourself riding an unstoppable train of financial momentum.
Baby Step #1
Perhaps you just can’t get started saving for retirement, even though you know you need to start. Take a baby step. Go to your HR department and have just one percent of your paycheck diverted to your company’s 401K plan. As time goes by increase your contribution to 2%, then 3%, etc.
Baby Step #2
Maybe you’ve always wanted to learn how the stock market worked or increase your investing knowlege. Begin by reading just one chapter of an investment book a month. Slowly increase your reading consumption until you’re finally reading one whole book a month.
Starting small allows you to overcome inertia and build the momentum needed to accomplish your financial goals.
Baby Step #3
That’s also the theory behind the increasingly popular 52 Week Money Challenge. Each week, over the course of 52 weeks, you put into savings the number of dollars corresponding to the number of weeks you are into the challenge.
During the first week of the challenge you would commit to saving one dollar. The second week you would place two dollars into savings. The third week you would commit to putting three dollars into your savings, and so on.
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On the 52nd and final week of the challenge you would place 52 dollars into your savings giving you a grand total of $1,378. This is a major accomplishment considering the fact that 63% of Americans do not even have enough cash on hand to pay for a single $500 to $1000 financial emergency.
By starting out saving small sums of money at first you’re able to overcome inertia and build your savings momentum. As you procede through the challenge you’ll receive a psychological boost as you watch your savings grow. Inevitably, the more you save the more you’ll want to save.
You can find out more about the 52 Week Money Challenge by downloading a free 52 Week Money Challenge scorecard from Affinity Plus Credit Union or by visiting the 52 Week Money Challenge facebook page.
BMWK, could a 52 Week Money Challenge be in your future?
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