Minding Your Money 360 - Quick tips to manage your money for success

You all know that I am a big fan of setting goals. In fact, it’s something I constantly do and I believe goal setting is an important part of being a successful in life. But falling victim to mistakes can trip up and get you off track.

Here are 4 common mistakes that can derail your goals include:

Waiting for the perfect time to get started. See this for what it is, a form of procrastination. It can cause you to waste precious time. The best way to avoid this mistake is to just get started.

No system or plan to set or achieve your goals. You can use the SMART or the SMARTER goal setting method but the most important elements is to know what you want, what it will take to get there, where you are now and how you plan to bridge that gap.

Not working on your goals every day. There are so many distractions in life, that if you don’t consistently focus on your goals, they will start slipping away. To avoid this mistake, make a list of tasks to complete each day that move you closer to your goals and put sticky notes up or other reminders up to help you stay focused.

Finally, 4. Not celebrating your successes. Okay focusing on the end result is great, but you still have to live life in the interim so take some time to celebrate your successes as you completing major parts of your goals. Then have a big celebration when it is complete.

And that’s the minute for today. I love helping people with all aspects of their financial lives. If you have a question, if debt is an issue or if you just want to get your financial house in order contact me at [email protected] or go to my website at www.psworth.com and sign up for a free discovery session.

Thanks for listening and as always remember that minding your money really is the path to a richer life!

Today on the minute – what’s your biggest money worry?

According to a survey from BMO Group, 31 percent of Americans cite debt repayment as their top financial priority, followed by saving more at 26 percent and investing efficiently at 21 percent.

The major concern is that if you can’t get a handle on your debt now, it could hurt your chances of ever becoming financially free. And, that makes total sense when you stop and think about it. If I’m spending hundreds of dollars each month on debt repayments that may not leave me much to put towards investing for the future. So what’s the answer? A first step would be to minimize debt. If you are already in it – make a plan to get out and if you are contemplating adding debt, be sure that you have explored all other options first.

This might include things like saving the money so you can pay for all or most of new purchases or even looking at ways to decrease your other expenses so you have extra money to pay for any added debt.

Finally, don’t forget that there is a real cost to debt. For example, the $100 jeans you charge today keeps getting interest added on each month until you pay them off – making your jeans cost a lot more than the $100 you thought you were paying. In fact, in many cases, by the time you pay them off, if you used cash you could have bought two or three pairs of jeans.

And that’s the minute for today. I love helping people with all aspects of their financial lives. If you have a question, if debt is an issue or if you just want to get your financial house in order contact me at [email protected] or go to my website at www.psworth.com and sign up for a free Discovery Session.

Thanks for listening and as always remember that minding your money really is the path to a richer life!

It's Monday and I have a question.

But first, I’m starting to kick up my PR for my new book, How to Get Divorced Without Losing Your Blouse book and not a moment too soon. I had a mention on NerdWallet.com and this Wed the 26th, I’m a guest on the Divorce Warrior Podcast – (http://www.divorcewarrior1.com/pod-casts.html) you can find a link at Episode 696 at www.mindingyourmoney.org and starting on Wed for a limited time my book will be available in the Kindle store for 99 cents. So, lots going on.

So now for my question. Have you checked out your advisor? Advisors are people – some are good, some are okay and some are bad. Before you give someone your money, you must do your due diligence. So how can you accomplish that? One important way to get references and actually check them out. But here are two important resources and if you don’t make use of them shame on you.

The first resource is to check out representatives, advisors, brokers, etc. To do this, go to www.brokercheck.finra.org. When you go there you can put in your advisors name and a whole plethora of information comes out, including things like licenses so you know if they are actually licensed to sell products to you or if they have been cited for misconduct. That alone is good info since so many people have been swindled by people who were not licensed or who have been sanctioned for not doing a good job for their clients.

If your advisor is a RIA or a registered investment advisor, you should go to www.advisorinfo.sec.gov to check him or her out. Advisors can be a great help. They can often help you get to where you want to go faster and avoid some of the pitfalls but it won’t do you any good if they’re not good.

And that’s the minute for today. If you missed any of this be sure to go to www.mindingyourmoney.org and look for Episode 696.

Thanks for listening and as always remember that minding your money really is the path to a richer life!

It’s Friday and time for our word of the week –the word this week is 21 days.

I chose 21 days because that is the average length of time that experts say that it takes to make something a habit. So, if you are starting a new exercise routine, for example, you need to hang in there for 21 days and then something magical will happen and it won’t be as difficult or strange – in fact, it could become so familiar that it feels strange not to do it.

And the same thing holds true when it comes to managing your money, investing or anything else along those lines. My point is that you need to give it time before you throw in the towel. I had a client tell me that after spending days creating a budget, she realized she couldn’t do it so she chucked it all. Minding your money is a marathon, not a sprint. And, forming new money habits can be tough. After all, you have been living with your old habits since you were a kid. And, here’s another bit of honesty, it may take more than 21 days so be prepared to be in it for the long haul because big goals can take some time to achieve.

Our word of the week: 21 days – the amount of time that it takes in general to form a new habit. But when it comes to money habits beware that it could take longer.

And that’s the minute for today. Want more ‘Minute?’ follow us on Twitter @yourmoneyminute

Thanks for listening and as always remember that minding your money really is the path to a richer life!

I got a question from a listener who wanted to know if there was an alternative to divorce. She and her husband don’t really want a divorce but they don’t want to live together anymore. She says they are toxic for each other.

Well, one option is to get a legal separation. A legal separation allows you remain married but live apart. You can accomplish some of the same things as a divorce except that the marriage stays intact. For example, you may still be eligible for your spouse’s health insurance and government benefits. You can divide your assets and debts, decide child custody and support as well as alimony. The catch is that since you are still married, you are still responsible for joint debts and if those become your spouses’ responsibility and he or she doesn’t pay, creditors may come after you because they are not bound by such agreements. And your only recourse is to sue your spouse.

And, there is one more possible catch and that it is that not all states recognize legal separations so check with a local attorney or your state bar before you choose this option. And oh yes, if you choose this option do have an attorney help you. There are so many traps you can fall into so get some help.

And, that’s the minute for today. Get more tips to make your divorce smoother and get you new life off to a good start at www.moneyanddivorce.com.                                                         

Thanks for listening and as always remember that minding your money really is the path to a richer life!

Its summertime and spending comes more easily because we tend to be out and about a lot. But that’s not really any reason to let your spending go off the rails.

I don’t know about you, but I used to be a shopaholic. I couldn’t pass a fabric store without going in and I usually came out with something most of which ended up in my ‘I’m going to sew someday pile.’ If you have shopaholic tendencies, here’s a quick fix. Incorporate a ‘splurge fund’ in your budget and use it for whatever your favorite splurge is. That way you can spend without the guilt – which really doesn’t help anything.

The second thing to note is that most buying has an emotional component. You might try to remove as much of that as possible by giving yourself some space. For example, like to setting certain time and space on items before you purchase something so it becomes more of a rational decision. Give yourself a time out. So, if something costs $25, you might need to give yourself 10 minutes to just think about it. If something costs $50, you might need to walk out of the store and if something costs $100, you might need to sleep on it. Setting parameters like these gives you an opportunity to decide if something is worth your hard earned money. Speaking of which, it sometimes helps to think about how long you have to work to pay for something. So if you take home $10 an hour – spending $25 means that you have to work 2 ½ hours to pay it. Ouch!

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And, that’s the minute for today.

Thanks for listening and as always remember that minding your money really is the path to a richer life!