Dollars and Sense of Success

Welcome to the first blog post on Nest Egg Financial Coaching. My name is Mike Eggebrecht and I serve as a financial coach at Nest Egg Financial Coaching. As a coach I encounter people from all walks of life and with different financial goals and dreams. Common among everyone who is trying to accomplish financial success is the need to be organized and to have a plan mapped out. As we approach the beginning of a new year, it is common for people to evaluate their financial goals for the coming year and beyond. My goal with this blog is to provide people with a practical ideas and approaches to gaining some financial traction and success.

The very 1st question to ask yourself is, "What do I want?". This is very important because it really sets the stage for setting the initial goals. You (and your spouse, if you are married) may have different ideas of what you may want financially. Starting with what you are hoping to achieve is very important. Have a good discussion if you are in a relationship because getting on the same page here sets the stage for remarkable success.

Secondly, add some numbers and timeframe to what you are hoping to achieve. If you have debt, get it all organized, written down, then look at your income and other resources to figure out how to pay it off. For example, you may have $50,000 in debt and you make $80,000 per year. You may want to plan to pay $2000/month on the debt x 25 months to pay it off. You may need to get a part time job to be able to pay this amount every month for 2 years. You can do this same exercise for saving for a particular goal by using several online calculators.

Next, ask yourself, "What habits do I have in place today that will help me to accomplish this?", or "What habits do I need to add or remove to set me in the direction to accomplish this target as mentioned above?". One habit that is foundational in achieving your goals is to have a spending plan or budget that you sit down and review regularly without distractions. No kids, phones or other distractions. In reality a budget has only 2 components: 1. Determining where your income goes each month 2. Have a tracking mechanism to make sure that your expenses are in line with your monthly plan. You can do this on paper, on a spreadsheet like Excel, or on a free online budgeting app or website. Sites or apps like YNAB.com, Everydollar.com, and Goodbudget.com are some good options to check out.

In conclusion, these are the takeaways from today's post:

• Figure out what you want

• Put some numbers and a timeframe to it - it it an achievable plan?

• Examine your financial habits - do you need to make some changes?

• Set up a spending or budget plan that you can follow. Make sure that you track your transactions for income (paychecks) and expenses as you go through the month.

Start thinking and talking through these concepts now, so that you can enter the New Year with a plan and some momentum to improve your chances for success.