A few years ago, my job went from part-time to full-time, and my husband got a raise shortly after that. We decided to take all the new income, plus any other we could find and get intense about paying off our house. Our goal was to do it in fourteen months and, by the power of planning, not only did we achieve that goal, we finished a month early.
When you focus intently on one goal, everything you do heads in that direction. And, if you commit to sticking with your plan no matter what comes, you can make it happen. When other mini crisis came up, we found creative ways to deal with them, knowing it was only a temporary time frame to push through.
And what an amazing feeling when we made the final payment! It wasn’t that we suddenly felt rich, or like we had arrived. It was a warm, fuzzy feeling of security. Like no matter what happens, whether a personal catastrophe, or another economic recession, we would always have a place to live.
When you experience that feeling of security, you will finally understand that the fluff and stuff of life is not as satisfying. Having a nice car, great furniture and a beautiful wardrobe, or meals out and the newest game system, are not nearly as enjoyable when you are constantly worried about making all those monthly payments.
Soon after we paid off the house, I started saving for a trip to Hawaii. We used to live there and had been wanting to go back for a visit for a long time. We really couldn’t afford to go yet, since we were cash flowing one of our kids through college, re-siding the house, and just catching up on things in general. But, we really wanted to go! So, I made a plan.
First, I just stashed away whatever extra money I could, but soon I got more serious and really focused on that goal. I knew that without the power of a good plan it wasn’t going to ever really happen.
What I didn’t want was to fall back on our old way of vacationing. What we used to do was save a little money, go to our destination, not have enough money to have much fun, and then end up charging things trying to make it better. Then, we would come home and face the credit card charges and all the joy of the vacation would be gone. At least for me.
I will say that our Hawaii vacation ended up being the best one I’ve ever been on in my whole life. The anticipation of a well-planned trip, no stress about how things would be paid for, knowing we would have lots of fun, and then coming home with no lingering charges on the credit card.
Not only did we prepay or pay cash for everything, I made a ten day schedule jam packed with memory making fun. At first, my family thought I was killing their idea of a relaxing vacation on the beach, but they soon changed their minds and still talk about all the great things we did.
The power of planning doesn’t just involve your money. If you can plan your time and schedule events, you will stretch your finances better. I was able to find a great deal on an airbnb house a little ways out of the city (near where we used to live!) We did lots of free stuff, like hike Diamond Head and Koko Head, swim in the lagoons, and go to Arizona Memorial. We went snorkeling for just the price of renting the snorkel masks and fins.
There were plenty of our favorite food stops, like Leonard’s bakery for malasadas, Matsumoto’s shave ice, and Wow Wow lemonade, as well as some favorite restaurants. We spent Thanksgiving with friends, and met other friends for dinner. Our biggest expenses were golf games for my husband (who still got great prices by golfing with his local friends), and the girls and I going to a luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center.
What a great time we had, all because I took the time to make a goal, plan it out, and then followed the plan. I think it’s time for another vacation!
The best way to reach a goal is to make a detailed plan to get from point A to point B with all of the mile markers in between. The more detailed your plan, the more successfully you’ll reach your goal.
So, get busy working out the details, get creative with ways to get there, and celebrate the mile markers to keep you motivated. And if there’s anything I can help you with, just let me know. I’d love to hear about whatever goal you are working on next.