Money Monday: Setting financial goals…what worked for me

I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that I plan to do things differently with my money in the upcoming year.  Even though I always say this, I have to admit that I haven’t always been successful with my finances.  I’ve gone through a lot this year with a job layoff, fighting my son’s father for child support, dealing with debt, losing a home, and taking on more student loans.  But the ironic thing is, is that I actually have more money in my bank account now than I ever have had in my entire adult life.  I can’t say that it is all the result of some money genius deep inside of me… but the majority of it (if not all of it) came in the form of a financial gift from a close relative.  This money has enabled me to stay home with my son, pay off some bills, and not stress about money for a little while.

The way this ties in with financial goals is that about two years ago, I decided to become a faithful tither.  I asked God to remove anything from my life that was not fruitful for me or my family.  I also made a promise that whenever I received any amount of money, ten percent of it would go directly to God, or some other charitable cause.  I also set the goal of becoming debt free, being a stay at home mommy, and doing work that I absolutely love.

The wonderful thing is that God has answered and delivered on all of my goals.  It may not have happened in the way that I wanted or predicted, but I am now debt free, I am a stay at home mommy, and I do work everyday that I absolutely love.  I guess what I’m trying to say is that financial goals are not always how much money we will earn, or how much money we have in the bank, or what possessions we will buy, but they can be changes in attitude and behavior that produce the results we ultimately seek.  Instead of just wanting to make more money, why not seek to change the attitude or bad habits that have been holding you back from making more money in the first place?  Or instead of wanting to make x amount of dollars, why not look at what you love to do and seek creative ways to profit from it?  These are just examples, but I’m sure you get the idea.  I hope this post doesn’t sound too preachy, but my purpose in writing it is to encourage and inspire you to think about setting goals from a different angle.  Be open to all possibilities and take care of the inner changes first.  I’d love to know your feelings on this so please, let me know what ya think…