Hope for your financial life and beyond

Reading Worth Your Time (1/12/13)

Here are five great articles written this week in the blog world. Enjoy the weekend!

10 Financial Lessons I Learned From My Parents Divorce

Health Savings Accounts (HSA) – Can They Help You?

11 Ways to Cut Your Car Insurance

Money Lies and the Devil

13 Ways to Save More Money in 2013

 

 

 

 

Developing a SPLASH Goal Plan

Dog jumping in water

In my last post, I outlined the acronym SMART as it relates to setting goals. Each goal we set should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely. A goal that contains these elements has a greater probability of being reached.

Perhaps your new to the concept of setting goals and don’t know where to start. There are so many areas of our life in which to set goals it can become a little overwhelming. So today I would like to talk you through a program we introduced at our school several years ago that helped our faculty and staff narrow their goal setting focus to specific areas of life. It’s called a SPLASH Plan.

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How to Set Goals: Make Them SMART

how to set goalsWhat do you want to accomplish this year? I hope you have laid out several big-ticket items you would like to check off your list by the time 2013 draws to a close. Having targets to shoot for is critical if we want to move forward in life. I know I don’t want to be stagnant.

In regards to goals, I’ve challenged myself this year to continue to put my trust with God where it belongs, to give more generously, to plan urgently like there is no tomorrow, and to busy myself each day with what brings me joy. I believe these are valuable pursuits, but they are more broad focused, motivational goals. They challenge me, but do not address anything definitive.

So, today I would like to narrow the goal-setting focus by realizing that, if I am going to be successful in reaching my target goals for 2013, I’ll have to be really SMART.

How to Set Goals the Right Way

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5 Articles Worth Your Time (1/5/13)

Here are five great articles I read this week. Enjoy your weekend reading!

10 Ways to Be Rich Without Being Wealthy (Money isn’t everything. Check out other ways your life can be rich.)

How to Stick to an Exercise Program (Want to get in shape in 2013? You’ll need to do these 5 things.)

Why Is My Paycheck Smaller? Understanding Your 2013 Paycheck (This article discusses reasons you are not bringing home as much money in your paycheck in 2013.)

The Advantages of Being a DINK (Dual Income No Kids) (This one is for all you young married couples out there – or for you parents who dream of being a DINK again some day.)

5 Ways to Build Savings (Here are some helpful ideas to help you save more in 2013.)

Bonus Read:

6 Ways Your Brain Attempts to Sabotage Your Goals and Dreams (Don’t let your mind play tricks on you. Beat it today!)

 

 

 

Fall in Love With Work (Again)

Patched HeartAre you in love? Perhaps it’s that special someone you’ve chosen to share your heart and soul with for the rest of  your life. Or maybe it’s that favorite caffeinated beverage you must consume each morning to jump start your day. I’m sure others (not me) are completely in love with one of the two teams who will be pursuing the BCS Championship on Jan. 7th.

What about your work? Are you enjoying the daily grind of your career? That’s a tougher question for many people to truthfully answer.

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Plan Like There’s No Tomorrow

Big Ben New Years5…4…3…2…1…Happy New Year!

And so, 2012 was put in the rear view mirror this morning as the clock struck midnight. Across the world, the coming of the New Year was greeted with cheering, confetti, fireworks and kisses. We celebrated making it through another year.

However, New Year’s Eve is more than a celebration of the past. Its focus is really looking ahead with hopeful anticipation for all that we plan to accomplish in the coming year.

Do you know what you want to accomplish in 2013? Do you already have plans drawn up? If not, you need to begin now for one simple reason. You don’t know what the future has in store.

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Giving: Like Never Before

Give to charity - FDP CreditHave you ever taken a moment to evaluate and reflect on how you organize your monthly budget? What line items find their way to the top of the column? Mortgage…food…car loan…clothing…pet food…Netflix subscription? What tends to get left over and pushed to the bottom?

I believe our budgets give us an indication of what we value most in life. We put the have-to-happen items at the top and the things-you-could-do-without-if-you-had-to items at the bottom. Makes sense. I mean, after all, we have to prioritize.

Everyone’s priorities are different and there is nothing wrong with that because our individual situations are unique. However, there is one priority we could probably give more attention to, and in 2013, I want to make it a goal. I want to give like never before.

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In Whom Do You Trust?

Tree by waterChristmas 2012 is behind us, which means there are only a few short days until the calendar turns the page to a new year. If you are like me, you have already begun to plan ahead and maybe have already listed two or three resolutions to pursue in the upcoming year. It’s always beneficial to set goals as they set us in motion, give us direction and produce intensity to accomplish great things.

My personal goals have to begin with my most important relationship. So today as I begin this New Year’s Resolution Series, I would like us to (re)consider the value of placing our trust in the right thing.

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What I Learned About Blogging From My First 50 Posts

Blog WorldWe can learn by reading and studying a topic, but nothing serves as a better teacher than experience. There comes a time in any endeavor when you are required to gain that experience by jumping in with both feet. I chose to jump this past July when I started Luke1428.com.

Last Friday, I wrote about the 4 things my first 50 blog posts taught me about myself. Today, I would like to share 6 things my first 50 posts taught me about blogging.

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5 Great Articles From This Week (12/22/12)

Enjoy these five articles that I found helpful this week. Have a great weekend!

10 Ways to Keep Your Holiday Season Simple (Budget and the Beach blog shares some cool things you can do to take the pressure off this time of year.)

I Got A New Job! (Doing the job search thing or maybe looking for something better? Here are some great insight into how Corey landed his dream job.)

My Best Financial Tip: Stop Being Afraid (Have a financial goal or personal dream? What are you afraid of?)

Is It Time To Retire the Concept of Retirement? (Do we want to retire or do we really want financial independence instead?)

Should You Combine Your Finances When You Get Married? (Some great advice about how combining finances can change a marriage.)

 

What My First 50 Blog Posts Taught Me About Myself

shakespeare bloggingOn July 3, 2012 I started writing this blog. It’s taken six months of part time posting to reach this, my 50th blog article. So in honor of this personal milestone, I am writing a two-part series on what my experience has taught me thus far about myself and what it has taught me about blogging.

So, for part one – 50 blog posts have taught me these things about myself:

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