Financial Freak Show

Sunday evening I was thinking I needed to get to work on another post. While jumping around the internet looking up some info for a future post I stumbled across a Netflix popup. I was now officially distracted. Once I wa sin my Netflix account I found myself plugging my laptop into my TV a pressing play on a “Watch Instantly” program called Cocaine Cowboys and threw myself onto the couch to become immersed for the next two hours in the life of Miami’s 1980’s big time, big money, real life cocaine dealers.

Two hours later the lady I live with (aka. my wife) came home and with a smirk asked how my writing was going.  I then told her how I had killed two full hours just hanging out on the couch. That’s when it hit me…my evening sounded like that Kenny Chesney song

 So I’ll just sit right here, have another beer in Mexico do my best to waste another day

-Kenny Chesney

I realized I wasted an entire evening when I should have been writing. Looking back it seem this happened because I began something without a reasonable plan in place. I was easily distracted since I started without any direction right from the beginning. This is what many people do financially everyday. Normal people rarely move forward financially with any real plan, strategy or focus. They look up and realize they’re in debt with no emergency fund and no viable strategy for anything different in the future. As a FinancialFreak you should devise and follow a plan to win financially, which is sadly not the norm (thats why were freaks – we’re not normal). True there will be many corrections and adjustments to the plan along the way but at least your not just along for the ride your instead driving the bus.

 So next time you get the urge to sit on the couch waiting to see what low fat recipe Oprah’s pimping this week or which stars can’t dance or who’s getting thrown off the island. Here are a couple ideas of things you could do instead….

Evaluate your financial position – create a personal balance sheet (what you have minus what you owe – third grade math I think even you can pull that off!)

Create a monthly spending plan for you household (again third grade math)

Write down you financial goals; 1yr, 5yr, 20yr etc.

Devise a plan to realistically accomplish your goals  

Maybe even take a few minutes to discuss your thoughts about the household finances with your significant other

Read something - improve some aspect of your life you feel needs attention (work, relationship, or maybe visit some older post on this site – you just might learn something….or not)

Then again maybe I’ll just sit right here and have another beer….

What advice do you have for those that struggle to keep their focus for the long-haul? What do you do to keep yourself on task?