Making Most of Our Money in 2022: Happy New Years! ✨🤸
January 01, 2022
Bye Bye 2021, Hello 2022!
Wow, 2021 - what a year.
I was listening to a podcast this week where they were recounting a year in review where they suggested,
“2020 was terrifying and 2021 was a lost cause full of chaos and confusion.”
What do you think this new year will be for you, for your family, your work, your social life, your career, your calling to shine with your inner sense of beauty in this world?
“In 2022, what are you going to do?”
GUEST POST ALERT:
Today, we’ll be joined by my friend Gavin Lovvorn, CPA to talk about money and geek out a bit about financial health, financial planning and securing a healthier, happier future for ourselves!
I’m super excited and I just know you’ll love what he has to share with us today!
Let’s dig in!
Happy New Year!
SERIOUSLY, can you believe we got here already?
We’ve arrived. No, seriously… Take a deeeeeeeeeeeep breath for a moment. We’ve arrived at a new place and time – we’ve stepped through the tunnel, and we now have a chance to see new light and redetermine for ourselves where we might plan to go next.
This is an exciting time of year, and hopefully you’ve been following along for the past few weeks thinking about New Years’ Resolutions and feeling more amped up and ready to accomplish new ideas and align your life to the fullest potential to thrive and flourish!
Every year, I get a head full of steam at the new year and hunker down with new projects that last me through at least mid-February usually. Can anyone else relate? Maybe it’s just me!
I often dive in deep and come up short in the long-term, having not fully thought out my full journey with relatively succinct and realistic expectations for myself.
In 2020, I decided to build an online course, start a new business, and lived in 3-4 different places.
in 2021, I decided to believe in myself and go all out with writing, starting this weekly newsletter for you, drafting outlines for books, videos, and continuing my writing of articles elsewhere online. Heck, I even transitioned to a new home-flip, jumped through 3-4 different jobs and experienced a wild roller coaster of economics, health experiences, and many emotions throughout. Trust me, I’m still reflecting (as I’m sure you may be as well) on what all happened in 2021 and what 2022 has in store for me too!
And ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT DRIVERS IN OUR LIFE TENDS TO BE MONEY, whether we want it to be that way or not. (drivers: things that direct our decisions in life)
Many of us may have a love/hate relationship with money. It’s likely that just talking about money stirs up all kinds of emotions for you on the inside. Well, I can definitely empathize with that myself, but hopefully we can continue the conversation and stay relaxed. Breeeeaaathe. :)
So, as money has probably been on our mind more of late than ever with year-end Christmas shopping just a couple short weeks ago and now planning for a whole new year, I have the honor of introducing out guest, Gavin Lovvorn, to help us leap into 2022 planning with a healthier perspective and wealthier mindset with 3 Action Steps for us to learn.
Let’s take a look at the wisdom he has to share, shall we!
Happy New Year!
It’s that time of year again! The time of year where we take stock of everything we don’t like about ourselves and make goals on how to change it.
We think to ourselves, “I’m going to eat a salad every day, go to the gym, and walk our dogs every day.” At least that’s one of the most common stereotypes we know. We often overfocus on the external and ignore the internal drivers of our lives and behaviors.
One resolution many people pick up around this time of year focuses in on the role money plays in our everyday lives.
How do you feel about your current financial situation, and how ‘bout it’s outlook over the next 20-30 years? Yes, this is the kind of conversation that is the root cause of most major household arguments, one of the leading sources of divorce and even health problems as just the stress and worry about money alone can have a multitude of damaging effects on our lives, let alone any arguments or sacrifices we make along the way.
Most people aren’t upset about their health per se, they are upset about 1) costs of healthcare, 2) costs of food and groceries, 3) costs of living. Most people aren’t upset about going to school to advance their career, they’re upset about 1) the high costs of education, 2) paying back student loans, 3) getting debt free and not paying on debt for the rest of their lives.
If we’re lucky, and a little smart and strategic, we plan and prepare for tomorrow with the wisdom to be able to achieve all the above plus more, supporting our friends, our family, and our community without stress, worry, or financial strain weighing us down.
So, how do we do it?
I have 3 ACTION STEPS I want you to think about going forward.
Let me know what you think!
1. Where’d All My Money Go? 🤷💬
It doesn’t magically disappear- or does it?
If it does disappear by magic, does that mean we can make it magically reappear just as easily?
For most people making a decent living, if you’re not careful, all of you’re money will be gone in the blink of an eye without having any real sense of where it went at all!
Did it go to house repairs, investments, a college fund, or vacation, or did we flush it down the drain again?
Most often, the answer is no! So how do we take steps to know where our money is going? The best answer is to take the time and write it out.
There are many apps that help track spending, but my favorite way is to actually use a pen and paper.
Tracking your money will give you a sense of control and understanding.
Once you know where it went and where it’s going, then you can make real changes to actually put it where you want it to go.
2. Talking About Money Feels Icky! 😩
If you don’t talk to your significant other about money, you likely need to. Many times, it’s similar to a water balloon with things that need to be said but never are. As the balloon fills up, the problems also build. When it pops, it pops hard.
You want my advice?
Sit down with someone to help organize the conversation. It’s that simple, but it’s also that important.
Here are the topics I would want to talk about- How much did you make this year?
How much did you save, invest, spend, and give?
What are your priorities with your money and is it actually being used for that?
If not, then why?
What can we do to get your money to be used better?
How can we adjust things to help your money work better for you, and not against you.
You see how it can quickly go from a negative emotion with heavy expectation to taking positive action steps with a healthier perspective?
That’s when a New Years Resolution actually helps people!
3. Did You Forget How to Dream?! 🤔💫
Remember when you wanted to do all those things when you were younger?
Who told you to stop dreaming?
Even more importantly, why did you believe them?
Are you happy with how life is? Chances are you feel stuck in the rat race- the endless loop of working, screen time, taking care of kids or loved ones, and finding time to sleep when you can.
Where is all the fun and excitement that you dreamt of as a kid? Who took it all away? Did the adults lie to us about how fun it would be when we were finally able to grow up?
The problem is you haven’t made a plan.
Yes, it’s important to invest for retirement, but you also have life to live today.
Ok, what does this actually look like?
Let’s say your dream is to visit Liquiderie, one If the best natural wine bars in Paris.
It would take 1 week of vacation from work. It will cost $6,000 for flights, hotel, food, and a little wiggle-room just in case.
We would also need to figure out where the kids can stay or who could take care of your cats while you’re gone!
Let’s write down a timeline to target your savings for your dream trip and the memories you’ll make along the way.
Start talking to HR for when vacation time is best used, and match the needs of your team, that way you’re not worried about leaving them and they can feel confident about your time-off.
Let’s talk to in-laws or family friends about watching the kids (if I were you, I would pay a handsome incentive to take good care of the kiddos).
Now, you might be asking yourself at this point, “Why on earth would a money guy actually tell me to spend my money like this when I should be investing?
It’s all about balance and your goals-and-expectations timeline.
Some people can take this trip next month. Others would have to save and invest for 5-10 years to make it happen. Others may not want to take this trip at all and would rather go hiking in the mountains on a weekend of domestic travel, reconnecting to nature! Maybe for you, it’s just simply wanting to not fret about weekend getaways to take your partner on a dinner date to the movies.
The thing is, you have to take control of your life and put your money where your priorities are.
Wow, what a mic drop moment at the end their you guys! 🎤🎤 What did I say?
This “money-guy” as he called himself really has some great insight and ideas for us to take on 2022 with a fresh perspective. I love what he’s brought forward for us to focus on with so many golden nuggets, especially the fact that we have to take control of our lives and put our money where our priorities are.
Such great content. Gavin is awesome, as you can tell and he wants me to leave you with a brief call to action for anyone who’s interested! FREE OFFER ALERT so pay attention! :)
“I help people every day with their priorities, whether it be helping with budgeting to go on vacation, investing for retirement, saving for college, or implementing complex tax strategies so they don’t pay the government more than they have to. One size does not fit all when it comes to personal finances- hint: that’s why it’s personal!
When people come to me, most of the time they don’t know how I can even help or even what they want exactly, and that’s absolutely okay! That’s what I’m here for.
Most people just know they need help and want someone to guide them, and If that’s you and you think you or your family could use a guide, I want to offer you a free consultation over the phone to see how I can provide value to you.
Text me at (260) 602-2677 and let’s find a time to talk. You have the rest of your life to live. Let your money help with your priorities and let the year of 2022 be the year of taking control!”
Gavin is a CPA and owns a tax consulting business. He also works at Beachy Wealth Management guiding clients through finding term-life insurance and investments that are best for their situation.
Wishing you all a happy, healthy, New Year now here in 2022 and beyond. Lifestyle alignment, matching money and finances to our prime priorities is just one of those non-negotiable steps in the journey to thrive and flourish my friends.
I’m so freaking stoked to be part of this journey with you! Have a great week, have some great fun, give Gavin a text or a call and let us both know what you think about this post.
If you haven’t already, copy and paste one of his golden nuggets to your refrigerator, mirror, or calendar as a daily reminder.
Share this post on social media to help inspire others. 💙
Stay blessed, stay beautiful. ✌️
If you like to hang out online, come find me and say hello! 😁
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If you missed last week’s edition you can check it out here:
