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The Savvy Scot

Personal finance and lifestyle blog

Totally Unrealistic Resolutions

By savvyscot

 

A big happy new year to everyone. I had planned to write this post a few days ago so that I wouldn’t need to write hungover, but unfortunately that did not happen. I refuse to admit that this was down to bad planning, rather I decided my time would be better spent with family! πŸ˜‰ As a consequence, I am currently feeling very sorry for myself and am the most hungover I have been in a LONG time. Please excuse any mistakes as I am not planning to proof read this post after I have finished!

 

The Clean SlateΒ 

I have discussed change a lot recently on SavvyScot. The 10 part ‘Change Your Life‘ Series focuses on ten different areas:

 

Part 1 – Exercise
Part 2 – Eating Healthily

Part 3 – Get Knowledge

Part 4 – Your Appearance

Part 5 – Learn New Skills

Part 6 – Fix Your Wardrobe

Part 7 – Improve Your Social Life

Part 8 – Become Better with Money
Part 9 – Find Yourself

Part 10 – Realising Goals and Achieving Them

Goal Planning for 2013 justifies why I believe we should set goals instead of make resolutions.

I came across an interesting post from one of my friends on Facebook this morning:

Screen Shot 2013-01-01 at 16.50.10

Although this guy was undoubtedly being a bit of a smart-a*se, he does have a point! That said, 99% of the world wouldn’t agree with him and have set themselves hundreds of new resolutions as 2013 promises to be the answer to all the things that went wrong over the past year! As I swipe through my Facebook news feed, there are 100s of resolution statuses – most of which are totally unrealistic:

Screen Shot 2013-01-01 at 17.22.50

Screen Shot 2013-01-01 at 17.23.39

Among others, I have come across people that are going to give up drinking/smoking completely, some who are never eating sweets again and someone else who is not going to watch the TV this year.I consider myself an extremely positive person, however all of these individuals who are procrastinating are alcoholics/sweet addicted junkies/couch potatoes. Where are the realistic resolutions? If you are obsessed with drinking coke, you don’t want to make a goal to give it up completely. At least not at first. A better idea is to make a smaller goal first – perhaps limit yourself to one can a day for January, three a week for February, one a week in March etc.

This has two benefits:

  1. If the goal is a big one, it can take a long time to feel a sense of achievement. By making smaller goals, you get that feeling more often and it acts as great motivation and encouragement.
  2. You are much more likely to succeed at smashing your target! Our behavior takes time to change. If we make radical changes, they are much less sustainable!

By gradually quitting a bad habit / making a change, your body and mind learns a new behavior. It is given time to adapt and is far more likely to succeed! Behaviors are hard-wired and are NOT easy to change!

Instead of setting resolutions to come into immediate effect, why not aim to quit the habit in 2013? That way you give yourself a much better chance of winning.

Fresh Attitude to Finance

And so we come to talk about finances. We can apply the exact same approach to quitting a bad habit to reducing spending. If we have developed bad spending habits over the last year(s), we need to make the start of the change today instead of conquering it completely. I am not suggesting you go from eating out 3 times a week to not going out at all, but instead let’s work on a more realistic approach. Reduce your eating to twice a week, then once, then every two weeks etc. Slow and Steady Wins the Race! This approach can be used on all your goals: from health and fitness to learning. The point is, use the year to make the change instead of going cold turkey (no pun intended) and failing half way through January.

Screen Shot 2013-01-01 at 17.26.14

Win $100 to KickStart 2013

Oh and just because I am a nice guy, I am giving you the chance to win $100. If you are interested in participating in future giveaways, click HERE.

What is the funniest Facebook Resolution you have seen this year?! πŸ˜€

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Filed Under: Change, Personal Finance Tagged With: 2013 finances, 2013 fresh start, finance planning 2013, Financial Planning, fresh start for 2013, make a change to finances, slow and steady wins the race, spotlight

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Lovely comments

  1. Eddie says

    January 2, 2013 at 1:53 am

    All the best in 2013! That one above about the guy not drinking till April is pretty funny!
    Eddie recently posted..Wishing You the Greatest Success in 2013!My Profile

    • savvyscot says

      January 3, 2013 at 7:07 pm

      Cheers Eddie! I know right… I’ll give him a week πŸ˜›

  2. Canadian Budget Binder says

    January 2, 2013 at 4:01 am

    Happy New Year Mate!
    Last year we set a resolution /goal to quit smoking and we did it. We literally just quit almost cold turkey ( had a few pieces of nicorette gum). We are coming up one year smoke free and are darn happy we set that goal even if no one thought we would do it. I think it really depends on the drive of the person and it’s up to them to figure out if it’s realistic or not because for some it may be and for others it may not be. Great post. Mr.CBB
    Canadian Budget Binder recently posted..Finances In The New Year + New Budget = Success FormulaMy Profile

    • savvyscot says

      January 3, 2013 at 7:08 pm

      Hey Mr CBB! That is extremely impressive that you pulled that off cold turkey! I’ll be willing to bet that hardly anyone has that sort of dedication. On the whole, I work better with small changes – I find it easier to sustain them! Been doing any snowsports over the pond this season?

  3. Pauline says

    January 2, 2013 at 4:22 am

    Cheers to a slow but steady 2013!!
    Pauline recently posted..13 money resolutions for 2013: #1 start somewhere!My Profile

    • savvyscot says

      January 3, 2013 at 7:09 pm

      Even Slower for you my friend (**JEALOUS**) πŸ™‚

  4. Vaptisi Prosklitiria says

    January 2, 2013 at 1:00 pm

    I agree that realistic resolutions and goals are more easily accomplished and can give you a satisfaction and this can boost your energy and willing to achieve finally something bigger.
    A way of thinking for me is always split my bigger goals to smaller more easily to achieve mini-goals. This way i at the end i also van achieve big goals with little steps.
    The only you need is think the smaller goals as a part of a biger one.

    • savvyscot says

      January 3, 2013 at 7:09 pm

      Do you have any goals this year Vaptisi?

  5. James @ Free in Ten Years says

    January 2, 2013 at 1:07 pm

    I am going to give up spending completely in 2013 and will live my life in stoic calm and complete ascetic bliss.

    I’m not planning on eating anything at all and will allow myself a sip of water only if I have first completed all my sit ups for the day.
    James @ Free in Ten Years recently posted..The hidden psychological stress of work and why I want outMy Profile

    • savvyscot says

      January 3, 2013 at 7:10 pm

      Haha!! That sounds similar to a few I have seen since writing this post ;P

  6. Budget and the Beach says

    January 2, 2013 at 4:07 pm

    Here here! So absolutely true. And I love how people wait till Jan 1, even though they may have had the idea to lose some weight back in October. I mean why not start now…with small changes! That was kind of the subject of my last blog as well. I can’t handle the “big stuff.” I can only make good decisions today. and LOL about being so hungover you don’t want to proofread. I think you did OK! πŸ™‚ I think the funniest was also how one of the biggest partiers I know said he wasn’t drinking all of Jan. Riiiiiiight.
    Budget and the Beach recently posted..2013: Living in the MomentMy Profile

    • savvyscot says

      January 3, 2013 at 7:10 pm

      Haha! Glad you agree… and thanks for thinking it was ok, all things considered! Has your partier friend started drinking yet?

  7. The Happy Homeowner says

    January 2, 2013 at 6:18 pm

    Happy New Year! I agree with easing into changes/breaking habits/etc. Although I still set goals, I couple each with a detailed timeline that illustrates most of my goals are not instant changes but chances to improve whatever situation I feel needs improved–over a period of time.
    The Happy Homeowner recently posted..2012 Hits and MissesMy Profile

    • savvyscot says

      January 3, 2013 at 7:11 pm

      And the same to you! Detailed timelines are exactly what I am talking about!! …….Facebook has ruined that word!

  8. Mo' Money Mo' Houses says

    January 2, 2013 at 8:07 pm

    I think making smaller, more realistic goals are good, then when you accomplish one goal, set another. It’s a good way to do it in my opinion.
    Mo’ Money Mo’ Houses recently posted..A Look Back on 2012My Profile

    • savvyscot says

      January 3, 2013 at 7:11 pm

      Happy New Year Jess! πŸ™‚ Agreed on that

  9. Ornella @ Moneylicious says

    January 2, 2013 at 11:30 pm

    No need to rush through your goals. Even with finances you can pick up the pace once you have control over it.
    Ornella @ Moneylicious recently posted..Renovating Your Bathroom For Next To NothingMy Profile

    • savvyscot says

      January 3, 2013 at 7:12 pm

      Absolutely Ornella; I think it makes it less daunting too! Happy New Year πŸ™‚

  10. Catherine says

    January 3, 2013 at 12:10 am

    Such a good point! So many people fail at obtaining their goals because they give up b/c it seems so hard where if they just focused on the small bits they’d do so much better.

    ps- loving the new design, I know I’m late to the game!
    Catherine recently posted..What Would You Do With $2013.00 (Giveaway)?My Profile

    • savvyscot says

      January 3, 2013 at 7:13 pm

      Hey Catherine! Thanks for the kudos on the design… must admit I am chuffed to bits with it πŸ˜€ !! A very happy new year to you guys

  11. My Money Design says

    January 3, 2013 at 2:37 am

    The problem with resolutions is that they just end up being “rules” that we eventually break. Goals work out a little better because they give us something we can actually visualize and work towards.
    My Money Design recently posted..Our Long Term Financial Goals and How We’ll Meet Them in the New YearMy Profile

    • savvyscot says

      January 3, 2013 at 7:14 pm

      What an amazing way of putting it! I never thought of resolutions as rules literally; but you are right. We all know rules are made to be broken… goals are made to smash!! πŸ™‚

  12. Cindy B says

    January 12, 2013 at 5:41 am

    This year we’re paying our savings account first!
    someluckydog at gmail dot com

    • savvyscot says

      January 15, 2013 at 9:07 pm

      Quite right… do you have a holiday / treat in mind Cindy?

  13. thestarvingartistcanada says

    January 14, 2013 at 4:56 pm

    So far so good on my very realistic resolutions:
    1. eat more bacon
    2. drink more wine

    I’ve acquired an entire leg of prosciutto from a friend who cured it himself over a year ago.

    The wine however has been not as successful. I have increased my beer intake so I’ll take that as a partial success.

    Having the money to buy booze where I live is the limiting factor… Our provincial government controls it and thus it’s about 5 to 25 times higher in price than the rest of the world. Wines that sell in Spain or Portugal for $2-3 a bottle cost $15-19 here.
    thestarvingartistcanada recently posted..FOOD: the best creamed spinach ever!My Profile

    • savvyscot says

      January 15, 2013 at 9:02 pm

      That is awesome about the whole leg of prosciutto! A big supermarket near my house was selling them for Christmas and they looked awesome! That is a ridiculous markup on booze… what Province are you in?

      • thestarvingartistcanada says

        January 15, 2013 at 9:22 pm

        Ontario! Wines that cost 15GBP in your neck of the woods are about $60-$70 here.

        The government’s idea of controlling consumption through absurd pricing…. Brings them 4-5 BILLION a year in profits. Which do fund thinks like our roads, schools, and health-care.

        The 6 classic malts of Scotland are all around $80 to $120 a bottle here. (Dalwhinnie, Talisker, Cragganmore, Oban Lagavulin, Glenkinchie) And not for any of the fancy issues… just the day-to-day stuff.
        thestarvingartistcanada recently posted..MONEY: options update Jan 2013 part 2My Profile

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