Monthly Snapshots
When I lived in Chicago, I was very goal driven and numbers oriented when it came to my job, but not so much when it came to my life.
I used to take screenshots of my book of business on the first of each month to highlight the progress I was making in growing my accounts. It was one of my favorite things to do. I sent myself a calendar reminder and everything. I loved to watch myself progress and grow month over month.
This game became much less fun once my accounts continued to grow and my income continued to decrease, alas, enter spiritual awakening / quitting said job / blowing life up / healing from experience / creating something bigger and better :)
I bring up this concept, because it is something new I started doing in my personal life. Now, on the 30th of each month, I take a "screenshot" of where my finances are, and where I am in terms of reaching certain goals and thresholds I set for myself.
I chose the 30th for a few reasons:
- My birthday is March 30, thus when my annual planning system starts, and my monthly checkins are on the 30th of each month (sans February obviously)
- I get paid on the 30th so it is when I have a snapshot of my finances before I dish out money on rent / car etc.
- I find it important to standardize when using time to track any sort of achievement, so I found what works with me and ran with it
In my old world, I was focused on one thing (and one thing only) pertaining to my own growth, and that was my income. I thought that if my income continued to increase, I could continue to improve my quality of life and continue on a trajectory that eventually led me where I wanted to go. But it didn't, and I realized it is much more important to keep track on the surplus of what is coming in as opposed to the number of what is coming in itself.
Instead of focusing on my income now, I focus on my net worth, which is much more important to me. Income fluctuates and is out of my total control, but I can control what I do with my money, and I am choosing to contribute to my future with each month that passes.
Very soon, you will be able to track your finances this same way, with my monthly snapshot printout! Make sure to sign up for access to the printable library so you can capture the top secret URL and get a copy for yourself :) It'd also be cool if you subscribed to my email list so that I can know you're reading this!!!
xoxo,
Allison
