My Gift To You. Go Ahead, Open It...

I have a free gift for you below that will ease your holiday spending hangover and help you get those cards paid off fast. It’s better than a budget, and it will help you build an iron cage around your money and shift your attention to what matters most in your life. What's the value of the gift? Here's what others said. Have a look if you must, then meet me back here.

Okay, here's how it works:

Most folks are so overwhelmed during the holidays...keeping the boss happy, paying student loans, getting the kids to ball practice, caring for aging parents, planning meals, shopping for gifts...that they take their eye off the very thing that can give them more time freedom and less stress.

Specifically, they take their eye off their cash flow. That’s different than a budget.

It’s as if they're driving their financial mini-van down the road 70 miles per hour looking through a drinking straw. All they can see is what is right in front of them (their bank balance). Plus, they're distracted with kids throwing french fries at one another, cell phone buzzing, traffic whizzing by, and their mental chatter playing in the background.

Then they get slammed in the side--"T-Boned" by a financial surprise. They didn't see it coming.

I’ve personally experienced this both in my business and personal finances. I remember arriving home one Christmas Eve only to discover my bank account wiped clean. And I’ve had tens of thousands embezzled from my business by a dishonest bookkeeper.

All of this is totally preventable. Here are four steps to guide you, and a way to make it easy:

1. Make it visible. What I mean here is make your cash flow visible to you, so you can see the past, present and future cash flow activity at a glance. You can’t improve something you can’t see. And monthly checkbook balancing and traditional budgeting no longer cut it.
2. Check it daily (for a while). Look at your outflows and inflows daily, at least in the beginning, especially in a very active account. You’ll spot small charges for things you’ve forgotten to cancel or know nothing about, and you’ll have time to make a correction quickly to keep chaos at bay.
3. Reconcile it weekly. In just twenty minutes each weekend, you can reconcile your cash flow and plan for future week inflows and outflows. This will change your behavior. Plus, you will have tremendous confidence, peace of mind, and power going into the new week.
4. Do it together. You and your business and/or life partner should do this together if you have a joint account. This creates accountability and opens lines of communication that are sorely needed to keep your partnership healthy and fulfilling.

When you implement these four habits, you’re harvesting lessons from the past. You’re scanning the road ahead, looking in all your mirrors, with panoramic view and situational awareness to better plan your future. Your new, informed, fact based thinking will help you make better decisions and create new habits. Better thinking, better decisions and better habits will win the money game.

If you'd like to get this money thing under control once and for all, then join me on my free webinar January 4, 2017. You'll get free access to everything you need to implement this in January, including quick-start training and downloads in the member’s area on this website. It's my gift to you.

In Gratitude,

Dale