Keep the February blues at bay
- B.J. Yoder: Young Money
- January 7, 2022
- 710
With the beginning of the new year, we start seeing or hearing the cliché, “New Year, New Me.” This phrase is a catch-all phrase that can encompass every facet of your life: weight, relationships, academics, reading, career and finance. It really doesn’t mean anything because you can start a “new me” phase any time during the year. It doesn’t have to be just because the calendar hit Jan. 1.
With the new year, we talk about wanting to save more money, make more money and invest more money, but like most diets and workout aspirations, those resolutions fail by February or March. The question that gets asked toward the end of January is “why did I start this?” or “how can I keep going?”
The February blues often get sung because the new year wears off and we lull into our routines and slip back to where we were. Then we get frustrated with ourselves and want to start up again, but we’re so behind we feel overwhelmed and then don’t try. Sound familiar? It does for me. There is a reason I was able to articulate the entire process because I’ve been there so often. First, I stopped calling them resolutions and started calling them “goals.” This puts a little more concrete meaning on the words you’re putting down in your Notes app or on a piece of paper.
Writing it down gives it meaning, but those are just words on a page. They mean nothing if you don’t do anything about them. Start an action plan to get there. Writing down “I want to make $10,000 more this year” will get you nowhere, except in a pool of regret when that doesn’t happen. Write down small, actionable steps that will eventually be the vehicle to get you to the end goal. Given the goal, we can start with “brainstorm side hustle ideas” and move on from there. Don’t write anything down you aren’t serious about.
There was one year when my goals seemed to be all about money — “save for this,” “be able to pay for this” or “have xxxx in my bank account.” That can get miserable when money is your large focus. I was able to reach most of those goals, but it felt empty at the end. Reminds me of Matthew 16:26: “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” I’m sure I missed plenty of activities and memories that year because I had a laser focus on the money goals. Don’t make it your sole priority.
Once you have the action plan, put it into action but know it could take all year, which annoys me because everything should be able to be done now (in my opinion). Be strong and steady with the steps you put in place and keep executing. I had a friend with one simple New Year’s goal: “make a risky real-estate purchase.” This shows it doesn’t have to be too fancy, but it could help (or hurt) your financial well-being without being complex.
What will the new “you” be? Will you try your hand at crypto or will you take that first step into the real-estate world? No matter what, make sure you learn from it. When a renter’s air-conditioning goes out or the sink — or worse, the roof — is leaking, it doesn’t seem to feel like a learning experience. Make sure the goals you have set for the new year make you better. Also, if you’re reading this and it’s far past the new year, that’s not a problem. Set it today.
Holmes County native BJ Yoder is an insurance agent by day and a finance enthusiast by night. This column is for informational purposes only. He can be emailed at benjamin.john.yoder@gmail.com.