Good Financial Reads: Focus on What You Can Control, Tools to Make Your Money Resolutions a Success, and More

3 min read
January 08, 2016

Good Financial Reads 01.08.2016

Following along with the blogs of financial advisors is a great way to access valuable, educational information about finance — and it doesn’t cost you a thing! Our financial planners love to share their knowledge and help everyone regardless of age or assets.

Catch up on some of the latest posts with this week's roundup:

 

Focus on What You CAN Control About Your Finances

by Cady North, North Financial Advisors

How high will interest rates go this year? How will it impact my portfolio? What’s happening with China’s market volatility? Is another bear market around the corner?
These are all the questions the media wants you to keep pondering so you’ll click more articles. I’m here to tell you that the answers to those questions do not matter much in the long run.

It can be a little scary to think about losing value in your portfolio, I admit. But I invite you to turn off the financial news feeds and start focusing on what you can control:
1.) Your spending and saving habits, and
2.) Your income.

When you focus on two items you unlock the most powerful tools you have to achieve your financial goals. You are the expert at what you do (where your income comes from). You can control whether you take on a side job or supplement income by starting a business. You can negotiate a raise or promotion. You can cut out unnecessary expenses, pay down debt, and make an effort to increase savings rates.

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The Most Important Tool To Make Your Money Resolutions A Success

by Brandon Marcott, Edify Financial Planning

Resolutions are basically a joke aren’t they? Every year when our calendars turn over, it’s not long before we start going back on the things we said we wanted to do.

It’s not for lack of want or need, we just fail. In order to make the failure manageable and justified, we poke fun at our own lack of conviction. On the surface, we make light of how quickly our want for change eluded us but inside we know the truth.

We don’t have (or at least, we feel we don’t have) control.

[Read the Full Article]

 

You're Accountable for your Journey

by Brent Dickerson, Trinity Wealth Management 

The New Year resolution is upon us. Each year we sit down and evaluate our past and strive to work harder to accomplish our goals in the coming year. We’ve all said that this is going to be the year that we stick to a diet, lose some weight, stop a bad habit, save more money, spend less, get out of debt, spend more time with the family, get closer to God, and on, and on the list can go. Research shows us that one successful way of sticking to our resolutions is by being held accountable. Many men I know have accountability “buddies” for their devotional walk with God, and their commitment to physical health. Having someone who will kick you in the figurative pants to get you to do what you say you will do, even if you don’t want to do it. It’s hard to find the time to go to the gym every day, but having someone there to force and motivate you to go makes it a little bit easier.

[Read the Full Article]

 

How to crush your income goals in 2016

by Pamela Capalad, Brunch & Budget

When people think of personal finances or financial planning, we often think we’ll be told to spend less and save more. It’s money we feel like we can control because it’s already in our hands. Worrying about the money you already have has its limits though. There’s only so much less you can spend and only so much more you can save.

Thinking about increasing your income often feels like something that someone else controls, whether it’s a boss, a client, or a customer. On the flip side, the potential for earning income is much greater than managing the dollars you already have and growing your income has the most impact on your financial success.

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