What is a Money Mindset?

Half of achieving your money goals is first visualizing yourself into that position. If you would've told me 5 years ago that I would have paid off 2 cars and be married (without using credit cards), and that I would have an emergency fund in case anything happened to myself or my husband. 

I would have looked around like who you talking about? The important thing is not where you start but where you see yourself and how you plan to get there. 

Set a few minutes aside to ask yourself to run through this exercise:

Visualize

Take a few moments and write down where you see yourself in 5 years. Is it on a beach? Or maybe living in a beach house? Or is it being debt free? All are great aspirations to have! Never let someone shame you for having goals and dreams. 

Personally, I have always wanted a Louis Vuitton purse. Currently, I have no plans to get one because I have not accomplished all of my other financial dreams. I want to be debt free and then I can treat myself to a well-earned Louis.

Next, write down what you have already accomplished? Sometimes we are so focused on what happens next that we lose site of the things that we have already accomplished.

Yes. the husband and I still have some credit card debt, but we have paid off debts, 2 cars, and a wedding. We deserve to be proud of how far we have come.  
​

Identify Barriers

We all have some barrier whether it be mental or something tangible. Take a few moments and list out what is holding you back from accomplishing your goals that you identified in the visualization phase.

Now for each of these barriers write down the category such as is it time, money, or spending?

• Time - Do you not have enough time to accomplish this goal?
• Money - Do you not make enough money to accomplish this goal?
• Spending - Do you have out of control spending habits that are getting in the way of you achieving your financial goals?

 
Sometimes we are in our own ways. Identifying the cause for not being able to achieve your goals is just one way to ensure that you address the true problem. 

I would love for the husband and I to be 100% debt free in 5 years but in reality we will probably be about 1 to 2 years away from paying off our student loans and we will bring new debt into our lives as we plan on buying a house in 4 years. The goal is obtainable but maybe not the timeline we set to accomplish our goals. 

Plan

Lastly, you need to plan out how you will accomplish these goals. The planning is probably one of the most important steps to ensuring that you have your mind on the money goals that you have set out for yourself. A goal is great, but it is meaningless without a plan to make it happen. 

---

Let me know in the comments some of your goals for the next 5 years and how do you plan to make it happen? I'll go first. 

Goal: Pay off all Credit Card Debt and Save for a House 
Barrier: Spending
Plan: Continue to monitor our spending habits to ensure that we are sticking close to the budget that we create for ourselves 

Because once it is all over...I'm getting that Louis

via GIPHY