Evan Vitale

Evan Vitale – Improve Your Budget This Year

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By Evan Vitale

Happy New Year!

Now, let’s really get down to work – starting today – in making 2017 a great year for you by taking the necessary steps in erasing (or significantly lowering) your debt and improving your budget.

The beginning of the year is a good time to take a look at your expenses and your debt and making some good decisions to start the year off fresh.

Ready? Here we go:

  • Take a look at where your budget is leaking money. Make there are some unpredictable expenses or, perhaps, you didn’t account for some extra income (which is always nice). Fine tune your budget to completely fill in the gaps so as to make your budget more accurate.
  • Analyze your spending and see if there is anything out of the normal. Check your budgeted categories and make sure that they are realistically reflecting your lifestyle. Make necessary adjustments.
  • Check to see if you are buying too many of one or two items. For example, how much money are you spending each year on those extra “lattes” every day at your local coffee shop or, perhaps, are you spending too much money (and too often) on music downloads; DVDs; books; movie tickets or eating out at lunch. Work hard on reducing these amounts.
  • Re-evaluate your overall plan so that you can have the funds needed in order to reduce your debt (such as credit card debt) or to start saving more.

By studying; analyzing and re-working your budget, you can make logical changes to reduce extra spending; plug holes in your budget for unexpected expenses and work harder in the upcoming new year to erase debt and build more wealth.

 

Evan Vitale – New Year Resolutions

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By Evan Vitale

Are you setting any resolutions or goals for the upcoming year?

Believe-it-or-not, a somewhat recent Forbes study showed that only 8% of Americans actually achieved their New Year’s resolutions. On top of that, only 45% of Americans actually make New Year’s resolutions consistently with the other 55% who rarely make them or never make them at all.

Perhaps we tend to get wrapped up in the moment of a New Year’s Eve party or watching the ball drop on television to realize that make the past year wasn’t that good for us or that we have expectations that, somehow, we’re going to make improvements in our lives for the upcoming year.

Then, 365 days later, we repeat the process. “This year is going to be better no matter what,” we think.

While it can be fun to set a New Year’s Resolution (and impress your family and friends), you should take them seriously and turn them into goals for your life. For example:

  • Think about what you really want.
  • Reflect to the past year; consider your greatest moments and achievements and see if you can build on those in the upcoming year.
  • Develop clear outcomes. Losing weight is always a New Year’s Resolution, but other than seeing a lot of people running on New Year’s Day, you need to vision the ultimate outcome of your resolution. Consider your outcomes and goals and develop a plan to work towards them.
  • Create benchmarks.
  • Try to work with a partner. Find someone who has a similar goal and make it a point to hold each other accountable. This will help tremendously!
  • Fully understand what it’s going to take in order for you to reach your goal. Are you going to have to make serious changes and sacrifices in order to reach your resolution?
  • Consistently take action.

Work on your resolution and goal plans for the upcoming New Year and then follow through and work on them daily; weekly and monthly. Remind yourself and others of your goal and how you’re progressing.

Evan Vitale – Setting Personal Goals (Part III)

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By Evan Vitale

This is our third and final part of a series on setting and reaching personal goals.

As I’ve said in the previous blog posts, it’s very easy to set a goal (and many people claim resolutions on January 1 for the upcoming year). However, there’s a huge difference in setting a goal and reaching it.

As you set your goal, one of three things will happen:

  1. You’ll work hard and obtain your goal.
  2. You’ll work hard most of the time, but you won’t reach your goal.
  3. You’ll never do anything in working toward reaching your goal.

Let’s focus on No. 1 and No. 2 as our main challenge is how are we going to reach our goal?

Here’s the secret to reaching any goal: break your goal down into smaller, bit-sized and winnable chunks.

How?

Well, let’s say we have a goal that we want to lose 20 pounds in the upcoming year. That’s a good goal and it’s one that we can reach.

Now, let’s break it down into smaller chunks. How are we going to lose 20 pounds?

  1. Create a smaller goal of walking every day for 30 minutes. Break this goal down into when are you going to walk every day. In the morning? At lunch? After work? Make it good for you so that you’ll actually do it every day.
  2. Take a look at your diet. Now, I’m not saying you’re going to switch to an all bread-and-water diet, but what kinds of foods and drinks could you start cutting out of your daily intake that would impact your weight gain or loss. For example, cut back on sugar; carbs and sugar-drinks like soda. A friend of mine totally cut out all soft drinks and starting drinking water instead. Not only does he feel better, but he immediately started losing weight.

There two steps are only the beginning, but they are simple. Plus, if you succeed in reaching and following your “sub-goals” then you’ll reach your main goal quicker.

Now are you ready to set a new goal for yourself for the upcoming year? Create the goal. Then, create a list of steps that you must take in order to reach the goal. Have a plan. Follow it!

Evan Vitale – Setting Personal Goals (Part II)

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By Evan Vitale

Let’s continue with our on-going series of setting – and reaching – goals in our personal life. It’s true: setting a goal is easy, but are you setting realistic goals?

For example, to set a goal that you are going to make $1 million over the next 365 days might be an unrealistic goal if you are unemployed or aren’t in a position to increase sales or your salary. However, if you earned $750,000 last year in sales commissions and salary, then you could see how a $1 million goal might be obtainable.

What realistic goals and reachable goals would you like to set for yourself? Here are some ideas:

  • Lose weight – always a top goal as we enter a new year.
  • Buy a new car.
  • Get a job promotion where you work.
  • Get a raise.
  • Find a different job, perhaps?
  • Travel more.
  • Buy a house, condo, etc.
  • Start a new business.
  • Plan for a better and more comfortable retirement.
  • Save more money.
  • Do a better job of budgeting.
  • Stop smoking; drink less, etc.

Are your creative juices flowing?

These goal ideas are some of the more popular ones, but most goals are those involving financial goals and health-related goals as we’d like to live longer; feel better and have the financial means to enjoy life.

While we might want to choose and create many goals, let’s start our goal project by picking one goal and focus solely on that primary goal.

How are you going to reach that goal? How much time do you think it will take? A month? A year? Longer, perhaps?

In our next blog, we’re going to pick a random goal from our aforementioned list and break it down into smaller chunks and show you how easy it is to work towards and reach your goal!

Evan Vitale – Setting Personal Goals (Part I)

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By Evan Vitale

When it comes to creating and setting a goal, we all have the best intentions in mind. We want to save for a vacation or a new car; lose weight or purchase a new cell phone or computer.

Unfortunately, the goal-setting enthusiasm soon fades away. We let other obstacles, interests and distractions get in our way and we eventually lose sight of our goal.

Why?

Setting a goal is a good idea. You have a plan. Goals (or at least one goal) gives you purpose, motivates you to take action, helps boost your self-confidence, helps you do more in your life and makes you better at what you do.

Some people set goals only once a year (New Year’s resolutions). However, you can set a goal at any time. They can be weekly or monthly goals; short-term or long-term goals, or even goals for your life.

The most crucial part of setting and reaching your goals is segmentation. Break your goals down into smaller, bite-sized targets.

For example, let’s say you want to save money in order to buy a new car. Great!

Now, break down your goal into segments or steps. How are you going to reach your goal? Do you need to save more money? If so, how much each week and how will you do that? Do you need to cut expenses? If so, how? Do you need to get a part-time job? If so, when will you start looking and how many hours per week do you need to work at your new job?

See how that works?

Break down your BIG goal into smaller steps. Figure out how you are going to reach your goal. This will help you take baby steps into getting to your ultimate target.

In our next blog post, we’ll share more points about setting and reaching goals.