Keep An Eye Out

Over the course of the years things happen and we look back and wonder how this happened. Whether it is debt, weight, career, whatever you look at and wonder how did this happen. The truth is not an easy answer, but in reality it is little by little. Our mistakes over time add up. They accumulate over time when we take our eye off the ball.

Growing up playing baseball that is the key that you are always taught, whether it be hitting, fielding or just covering your position, you must keep your eye on the ball and know where it is at all times. As you progress through life, the same thing applies, you MUST keep your eye on the ball. If you do not, things are going to trickle in and you are going to look back wondering…How did this happen?

As always I’m going to look at this from my 3 favorite perspectives, wealth, wellness and well-being. These 3 go together and help you be your best self. As you proceed keeping an eye on these areas you will find the peace and comfort that God intended for you.

Wealth is probably the easiest one to tackle and at the same time the hardest. The hardest because sometimes we get used to the comforts that have increased in price and we do not want to lose that comfort. It is that time of year now, you have worked your budget for 2 months, and either there are some areas where you are a bit soft or have got a little lose since Christmas time. Now is the time to dig in and see where you can cut things down.

With a new year upon us, chances are some of your insurance has increased (I know Homeowners insurance went up over the past year due to inflation, similar with car insurance). It may be time to talk to a broker and make sure that you are getting the best rates and coverage possible. I usually recommend checking this over every 2-3 years. Do not worry about staying with the same company, that is a hoax to stop you from looking. I did a check on my insurance at the end of last year and saved $1000 a year…that’s right. Most of that comes back to my son for his car insurance and the fact that he is in college, but still if I had not looked I would be wasting away a thousand dollars a year.

Next look over your many subscriptions, have they gone up, do you really need them and do they still provide you the value you were expecting when you first signed up. Are you still using them daily or could you maybe make do without them. This also includes your cable bill. I strongly encourage people to cut the cord on this, look at alternatives and at minimum call your cable company to renegotiate your rates at least once a year. They usually will give you the introductory rate if you ask nicely. Along with that is also your cell phone bill. I know for years I just paid the bill, not really realizing how much I was being robbed. You do not need the latest cell phone to make a phone call or search the internet. I encourage you to keep this down and challenge what you have already done in this area and others.

Lastly, from a wealth perspective, are you still saving as expected, or have you slipped on some of that extra savings money. You should at minimum be at 15% towards retirement and that does not include funds towards new car savings/maintenance. Keep that savings up and focused where it is needed.

Wellness!!! I’ve been on business travel for the past week and this is probably one of the worst areas when it comes to watching what you eat. If you do not want to look at the mirror at the end of the year and wonder how you got to hear, it is time to look at the choices you are making today. Your choices today, impact your future. Take care of what you eat and keep after some regular exercise regiment. If you are sitting too much during the day, take care of that, get up and go for a walk a few times a day. It is too easy to stay comfortable sitting down and feeling like you just can’t. But I encourage you to get up and move, do something, your body needs the blood flow and your muscles need the movement too. Wellness includes taking care of yourself in what you take in and what you do for exercise.

Finally well-being isn’t necessarily at the bottom but actually more the foundation of everything that goes above it. Well-being includes your walk with God, your stress levels that are caused from your home and your work, so this is probably one of the hardest areas to really dig into. As I break down your well-being, your foundation in God, whether it be church attendance, Bible reading, or prayer time, these are all instrumental in having a closer spiritual walk and finding the peace of God that only he can provide.

Now once you have that, it comes to your stress levels which fits into your home life and your work life. Are you stuck in your career? Or is your job leading to more stress at home? Or are you just feeling burnt out. Let’s do a check-in as to what is causing the burnout or the higher than normal stress levels and start taking some steps to reduce that, find the peace you need and make progress towards something new. Our work impacts our home life, there is no doubt about that, so you cannot look at those in a silo, rather you need to look at them independently and then together. Take some time to break this down.

These are all areas that I work with people on, whether it be my team at work, mentees that I pick up along the way, or clients that I coach. While I specialize in financial coaching, in reality I work across this spectrum to make you the best you can be for those around you.