Happy New Year

It's a new year! Never before have so many of us been so happy to see the back of a year. Goodbye 2020! And good riddance! Grab a bubbly beverage! Crack open a pomegranate! You made it!

This post is dedicated to one unsung hero. Consistency.

This is the time of year for New Year's resolutions. Adults know how this goes. We promise ourselves we will get fit, workout everyday, and eat only salad. We will save enough money to pay off our loans or renovate our house. Or we pick something easier like the resolution I tried three years in a row without succeeding: take calcium vitamins daily. I know what you are thinking, "They make calcium vitamins that taste like candy. Are you telling us, you couldn't eat a piece of candy everyday." Yes. That is what I am saying. But I am not alone. Whatever it is that we want to do, whether it is getting a goal in a soccer game or learning to play the guitar, we start out fired up with determination. This is the year! We are pumped! Nothing will stand in our way. Then, around February 1st, we find that we have stumbled a bit. By the summer, all that enthusiasm that we started the year with has fizzled out. We likely won't think about our resolutions again until next New Year's Eve when we start the cycle again.

How can we bottle all that resolve we have on New Year's Eve? Is there a way to make a decision once, and then have it happen all year without thinking? When it comes to money, there is a way!

Set up an automatic transfer from your checking account to your savings. Once or twice a month, whenever you get paid, have 10% of what you deposit go directly to your savings account.

You are on your way! While you go about forgetting your resolution to save money, it is happening consistently. If you have a hard month, and you need to tap into those funds, you can still get to them. You made that first step and set it to autopilot, which is the key to saving. The default setting is more powerful than you think.

For you kids: I challenge you to take half of what you get and save it. The rest, spend right away if you like, but hold onto what you save for 6 months or until your next birthday. You will be amazed with how much you have at the end.

May this new year be full of beautiful moments and healing. Happy 2021 from Cash Comics!

Sources

This tiny book, The Richest Man in Babylon: Discover the Essentials of the Legendary Guide to Wealth! is an oldie but goodie! It is very short and a pretty easy read.

This is where I got my suggested New Year's resolution. In one of Clason's stories, a well-off man explains, "I found the road to wealth when I decided that a part of all I earned was mine to keep." That is the 10% going to your savings account. It is yours to keep!