Okay, you’ve taken those first three baby steps towards optimizing your finances, ready for three more? These baby steps will set you up for financial success and get you headed in the direction of what you want. And if you want to hear more on this topic, I go much more in-depth in this podcast episode.
3 MORE Baby Steps To Get Started Optimizing Your Finances 1. Make sure you give yourself enough time to work on your finances Make sure you’re leaving enough time to complete the tasks you’re working on so that you don’t lose steam in the middle. Things like dealing with login snafus or linking accounts – these things always take longer than you think.
If you anticipate that these things will take longer than you probably want, it’s easier to stick with the plan and keep plugging away till you’re done. Consider blocking off a section of time on your calendar, preferably during a time of day when you know you’re typically productive.
For me, getting into my office, eliminating distractions, and actually sitting at my desk to get started is the hardest part of getting going. So if there’s something tedious I need to do like opening up a new account or rebalancing my investments, I put that in my calendar right after something else that will already have me in my office with no distractions, like a client meeting. I’ll set a three-minute timer to get up after the client session to stretch my legs and refill my water. But I’ll leave my phone in my office so I know I’ll be more likely to return rather than allowing myself to get distracted by some other task outside my office.
2. Give yourself a reward for finishing one of these tasks
My latest reward for completing tasks is to look at my Ring app, which has the camera that I set up outside our back fence aimed at a water dish that I keep filled for all the desert critters – there’s ALWAYS something cool to see. A family of quail has been visiting multiple times a day; sometimes there are even bobcats, coyotes or roadrunners! Other reward ideas:
Watching an episode of your favorite show
Taking a nap
Making yourself a snack and eating it outside
Having a kitchen dance party to a few of your most-loved songs
Reading a chapter of whatever book you’re working through
Getting a fancy coffee and walking around a cute neighborhood
Relaxing in a bubble bath
3. Set deadlines + create accountability Okay, that’s sort of two baby steps, but they complement each other!
As a person with ADHD, I require this strategy to get almost anything done, but when it comes to taking the steps to optimize your finances, I’ve seen from actual client experience that knowing you have a session coming up with your financial coach is a definite way to overcome the barriers and just get sh*t done. I’ll also say that sometimes having the session scheduled just isn’t enough, so it’s also okay to use part of your financial coaching session to make the moves. Think of it as a co-working session! Sometimes, a client session is me sitting there in the Zoom room while my client either opens an account, gets the automatic transfer set up, or updates the contribution amount to their 401(k) while I watch through a screen share. And I’m happy to do it! This way I’m right there to answer questions, provide little educational tidbits and in many cases, just direct where to click when it’s not clear.
Now, I’m not a registered investment advisor, so I’m never going to tell you which investment to pick, but if you’re not sure how to actually invest in things like your Roth IRA or your 401(k), I can absolutely tell you what the different terms mean, explain the pros and cons of different options, and show you where to get more information in order to be confident about your choices. And if you’re ready to actually invest, I can be there while you click through the steps of getting that set up. If you want help with things like this, I have a handful of openings for new 1:1 clients. Click here to learn more!