Debt-Free Forever by Gail Vaz-Oxlade (best english books to read for beginners txt) 📗

save $100 a month, next year I’ll save $200—or you can base your savings on a percentage of your income—this year I’ll save 10%, next year 12%, and so on. Your ultimate goal should be to contribute the maximum amount to your retirement plan that you are allowed by law. It may take several years to work up to the limit, so setting milestones along the way will help keep you motivated toward your goal.

Create any number of milestones to keep you focused and feeling great about your accomplishments. The smaller the steps, the more successful you’ll feel. Pretty soon you’ll be so focused on the final outcome because you’re so used to being successful that instant gratification will pale in comparison to achieving the Big Goal.

Perhaps the biggest goal you can set for yourself is to change your attitude toward how you deal with your money. Decide that you’re not going to feel bad, overwhelmed, stupid, stressed, or anything else negative about your money anymore. Instead, you’re going to do something about it—no matter how small those steps—so you can achieve your own sense of financial peace. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and repeat after me: “I am more than what my financial life says about me. I can have anything I want, if I am prepared to work hard. Today I want to….” Go ahead, fill in the blank.

FOCUS ON WHAT YOU REALLY WANT

You probably know people who believe that using credit is “normal,” that it’s what they should be doing. After all, their parents did it, their brother is doing it, so is their best friend. In fact, most of the people they know are doing it.

It’s as if people are afraid to just be. They have to drive the right car, go on an annual cruise, have new leather furniture, watch a high-definition television, eat out three or four times a week, drink the best Scotch, or consume premium store-bought coffee every day. And they’re willing to exchange hours, days, months, years of peace of mind for the momentary high that comes with the new acquisition.

One way to gain some perspective is to ask yourself (and your partner) what it is you really want in life. If you only had six months left on this sweet earth, what would you want to be doing? Would you be shopping for new furniture? Would the kind of car you drive really make a difference? How about the handbag you’re carrying?

I often talk to my daughter, Alex, about how important it is to live a worthwhile life: a life that brings challenge and love; a life that allows you to share, to laugh, and to be happy. So, what are the things that make your life worthwhile? And what are you doing to put more of the things that make you happy into your life?

If you love your life (as opposed to your stuff), relish the time you spend working, look forward to seeing the people you share your space with, and feel as if you’re making a difference, I don’t think the kind of car you drive, whether you have a big-screen TV, or how often you eat in a fancy restaurant will mean much. If you can focus on creating the life you want, taking small steps to achieve your goals and finding a way to laugh while you’re doing it, I’m willing to bet you won’t even miss your credit cards.

TIME TO SET A GOAL

Now choose the first goal you want to accomplish based on your revised A list and/or what you’ve negotiated with your partner. Hold off on making this about cutting your spending, paying off your debt, or saving a bag of money until we’re farther along in this journey together. For now, make your goals something to do with your life, and not specifically with your money.

When I was writing this book I had a goal—to get the book written by a certain date—along with a series of milestones that would see me to my goal by the date I’d set. My steps included setting aside a certain amount of time each day to write. I also knew I wanted a few people to read my first draft and comment, so I had to build that into my schedule. My milestones were these:

• Create an outline for the book by …

• Break down the outline into specific chapters by …

• Write x page49per day (ongoing)

• Have three chapters complete by …

• Give the first three chapters to K for review by …

• Have the next three chapters complete by …

• Give the next three chapters to K for review by …

• Incorporate K’s first set of comments by … … and so on.

Now it’s your turn. Decide on your first goal and write it at the top of a piece of paper. Create a series of milestones for that goal.

SIX QUESTIONS TO KEEP YOU ON TRACK

All through the goal-setting process, you should ask yourself these questions:

1. WHY do I want to achieve this goal?

2. By WHEN do I want to achieve this goal?

3. WHAT specific steps will I need to take in order to meet this goal?

4. HOW will I do this?

5. WHOM may I need help from to achieve this goal?

6. WHERE in my priorities is this goal?

You answer the WHY question because you want to create a clear picture in your own mind of what this goal is going to do for you. Maybe you want to go to school, and your WHY is to be able to make lots ‘n’ lotsa money.

You answer the WHAT question to lay out the steps you must take to get to your goal. The more detailed those steps, the better your plan. A good test of your “steps” is to hand them to someone else and ask whether they make sense and are clear and complete. Sometimes getting another perspective helps us see the holes in our plans.

WHEN is