On New Year’s Day, I shared my three primary goals for 2008:
- To save a $10,000 emergency fund.
- To lose 40 pounds.
- To write a book about personal finance.
Some readers thought setting only three goals for the entire year was “pretty weak”, but this has enabled me to remain focused, and to spend a little time every day working toward each objective. How am I doing? Let’s find out.
Save a $10,000 emergency fund
I got a jackrabbit start toward this goal by saving my Christmas bonus from work. Somehow I had managed to accumulate $1500 by January 9th before I discovered my car needed repairs. How much did those repairs cost me? $1500. Ouch! Now I’m back where I started, but I’m not giving up.
For the short term, I need to save aggressively to pay the taxes I know I’ll owe for 2007. Once I’ve met that obligation, I can turn my attention to saving the $10,000. This is a huge goal for me. I’ve never had anywhere near $10,000 in savings before. (In fact, $1500 was my record high.) If I can do this, I’ll feel much more confident about my transition to full-time writer.
Lose 40 pounds
I’ve made slow, steady progress toward this goal. So far, I’ve lost six pounds. I’m not hitting the gym or starving myself — I’m simply eating smaller portions and making healthier choices. (Applying terminology from personal finance, I’ve become a frugal eater.)
I’ll continue making these gradual changes until mid-March, at which time I hope to incorporate an exercise regimen. (Which is the dietary equivalent of increasing my income.) I’m pleased that Get Fit Slowly has been an excellent source of inspiration, both for me and my readers. I want that site to help people improve their fitness the way this site has improved their finances.
Write a book about personal finance
At the start of the year, I thought it would be great to write a book about personal finance. In the past two weeks, I’ve spent nearly ten hours talking with bloggers, agents, and published authors, exploring the pros and cons of such a project. “Do it!” some said. “Don’t do it!” admonished others. I listened to everyone, and after considering all of the advice, I’ve decided that I will write a book.
I have no illusions: a book will take a lot of time and probably won’t make much money. But I believe it’s the right choice for me. I’m a writer. It’s what I do. I’ve always wanted to publish a book, and now I have that chance. (Though admittedly I never imagined I’d be writing a personal finance book!) The next step is to pick an agent, and to work with her to craft a proposal that draws upon my strengths.
Less is more
One month into 2008, I’m pleased with my progress. By limiting my attention to three primary goals, I’ve been able to give each one the attention it deserves. I’m not trying to accomplish them all at once, either. Instead, I’m taking slow, steady steps in the right direction. I keep my goals in sight, even when I experience setbacks. I’m confident that I’ll meet each of these objectives — and that confidence keeps me motivated.
This entry is part of the MBN Group Writing Project for January.
This article is about Planning, Real-Life, Self-Improvement
I personally would like to see you write a book about personal finance. You’re blog is really helpful; I learned a lot in managing my money and it’s inspiring. I do hope that you’re considering publishing it in an ebook form because I live outside the US (I live in the Philippines).
Keep it up JD!
loading....
That’s wonderful that you’re reminding us of your goals often. You’ll succeed by staying accountable.
That $1,500 baby emergency fund really served its purpose, didn’t it? Aren’t you glad it was there?
Best wishes for your goals this year.
loading....
I think your goals should be the # you’re comfortable with, not what others expect. I’m working towards a $10,000 Emergency Fund myself and I’m over 30% there. Good luck in reaching your goals! Whether it’s an ebook or regular book I’ll still get it here in Kuwait
God bless Amazon heheh!
loading....
Really…the people that think 3 goals are “pretty weak” must not have tried to accomplish goals like yours. All three of your goals are excellent, year long goals that involve many smaller goals to get there. They are all doable but take focus. Having a whole long list of other goals on top of these would just get in the way.
Best of luck!
loading....
Hey – I might have missed it – but who won the cheapskate book a while back?
loading....
Having the emergency fund in place makes us feel so secure to go out and pursue other ventures it is great! I am trying to lose weight and have lost 13 lbs since Jan 1.
loading....
When you’re writing that book could you give some strategies for the…not so average family?? Check out the book…microtrends. He talks about Old parents, commuter couples and DIY doctors. We all need money advice tailored to us. I myself have no kids to send to college but I have an older brother and mother who need care. Just a thought:)
loading....
Good job having that emergency fund in place to catch the auto-repair fallout. I’m also trying to beef up my emergency funds and slim down my waistline, so I find your updates incredibly motivating (especially since you are beating me on both accounts so far this year!). Keep up the great work.
loading....
I think having a small number of achievable goals is the best way to go. Seems as though it’s the people with the huge list of things they want to do who find their New Years Resolutions forgotten a month or three into the year.
BTW: I would love to hear more about what it takes to recover from a setback, like having the $1500 but then needing it for car repairs. Seems to me every time I reach even a small financial goal of mine ‘something comes up’ that knocks me back. Very disheartening to say the least!
loading....
Don’t forget to look into options for self-publishing as a start. If you begin this way, you have the option of selling to a publishing house later on, but may be able to begin without an agent, etc.
Also, I believe it was Merle Lafferty who gave an excellent interview about publishing. One of the warning s given was to never work with a publisher/agent who asks for money up front. I haven’t done much searching for the interview to post a link, but I believe it may have been on NPR. (Too many podcasts, too few braincells to remember all the details!
loading....
Check with clarkhoward.com for self-publishing. I’ve heard him talk about it, and the need to have a business plan in hand. One of the first steps is how to market it, as getting the word and the book out there for sales (over time, and for sales) is often the most critical step.
I’m new to your site. But I’m a wife who is just getting started with active-partnering in the field of budgeting, planning, saving and education. My husband has trained me slowly (grin) The first step was getting me used to a money-software package and my first step 12 years ago was to just bring home every receipt for every penny spent. We entered it into our software tracking with categories; all our accounts and cash spending. The most important of all of that was that he never made any comment (except positive reinforcement for the receipts). Never a “did you have to?” or “why?” Never a frown or negative body language comment. Merely, in order to know where the money goes, this is important, so “Thank you” for the daily receipts in “the box.” Since then, we’ve gotten more sophisticated in our goals, but I never really was “involved” – the best thing he says he ever invested in was an ipod for me. He downloaded a number of Clark Howard, and other free podcasts for me, and I’ve become quite “invested” in our financial state. (huge grin)
loading....
Hang in there, these are good goals. I also set a goal for 2008 to get $10,000 in my savings for emergencies. I have $3100.00 already, so I still have quite a ways to go. If we get that tax refund stimulus this will help you get back on your feet toward that goal, granted that you save it, of course, but that’s my plan . . . put it in savings with what I already have.
loading....
Keep up the good work J.D. It sounds like you’re making marked progress towards your goal.
I may have missed it, but are you planning on hitting the gym? The pounds will melt off when you combine that with eating healthy food in moderate proportions.
loading....
Why are you waiting until march to start exercising? I haven’t read your GetFitSlowly site, but here’s what we’ve done.
My wife and I got an exercise bike to put into our attic instead of joining a gym. We have a 2nd TV that we watch when we bike. You can get a pretty decent exercise bike on Amazon for $300-400 or a much cheaper one used off of craigslist. This is only a few months or less of a gym membership.
Since we link it to watching TV, every time I start watching TV, I think to myself, I could be biking too. I don’t actually bike every time I watch TV, but I still end up biking 4-5 times per week. Ours has a calorie counter and 30 minutes of biking can burn 300 calories, which is pretty good for watching TV. After about a month of doing this regularly (I started at the new year), 30 minutes doesn’t even seem like much. My legs aren’t tired and I don’t end up breathing very hard, which means I’m getting into better shape. I like biking when watching sports, so I don’t feel as lazy as I would if I were just doing the couch potato thing.
loading....
My advice would be for you to strongly consider AA’s advice and self-publish, at least initially. I’ve published two books through the normal channels, and should I ever do it again, I will most likely self-publish.
Paying an agent up front is risky. The reality is, an agent will have a difficult time selling your idea to publishers if you aren’t widely recognized as an expert in your field. If they tell you differently, be very cautious.
Publishers have great resources. The editors are extremely helpful, and publishers have powerful access to bookstores (yes, they will be able to put your book on shelves…for a while), but you are still going to be responsible for marketing your book. My experience was that the publisher did very little marketing.
Depending on the arrangement, publishers may try to control what you write. You generally don’t walk in with the final manuscript, they will want changes, sometimes significant changes. This happened with one of my experiences, which ultimately contributed to an end product that I was not very happy with.
Again, depending on the arrangement, publishers will take a large percentage of the revenue. In my case, they assumed most of the risk, so it made sense for them to gain the largest reward. Bottom line: don’t go into this for the money – watching 95% of sales fall into the hands of the publisher is a little depressing.
Should you self-publish through something like Lulu or completely on your own, I think you’d come away with much greater satisfaction, more cash, and you would continue to build your name. Having the strong name will give you leverage for the next book, at which point you could pursue the agent path.
I’ve heard Dan Miller (http://www.48days.com/) make similar comments, just as another point of reference.
Either way you go, I wish you luck!
loading....
Those goals are WEAK!!!
loading....
I applaud you for taking baby steps towards meeting your goals. Only when you start you know how hard it is!
loading....
“For the short term, I need to save aggressively to pay the taxes I know I’ll owe for 2007.”
Ouch I’m surprised that someone apparently as “together” as you hasn’t been saving for this already *AND* doesn’t have an emergency fund.
Best of luck!
-Frank
loading....
I think anything more than 3 (new) goals is too much for the mere mortal anyway.
I must have missed your post introducing your new blog, just read it today (all of it). Very good writing and equally addictive in the “get-rich-slowly, I’m-the-guy-down-the-street-who-is-just-like-you” writing style. Kudos!
(weak!)
loading....
Bring on the book! I’ll buy several and give them out as gifts.
Keep on hammering on those goals, and reward yourself when you get there.
loading....
hit the gym results will come faster
the more muscle you have the faster you’ll burn those calories
loading....
I think those are major goals–not on the light side at all. Why don’t you merge two of your goals–losing weight and saving money–I’ve heard that people that were compensated for losing weight lost more overall–why don’t you make a contract to “pay” yourself a certain amount every time you lose a pound! That way, you’d have the satisfaction of knowing your bank account was getting fatter while you were getting thinner!
loading....
I think it’s great that you are including a post regarding your goals even though it hasn’t even been quite a month.
I just started hitting the gym last week and it’s the best choice I’ve ever made. I only go for half an hour to maybe an hour, but it gives me time to clear my head.
loading....
I know someone who wrote a book and while he only made a little money he really enjoyed it and talked to his accountant and found out about lots of deductions he can claim because he was self employed. He had a truck that needed to be replaced and found out most of it was deductible among many other things.
loading....
I hope you make this column a monthly feature. Letting others in on your progress does wonders for keeping your focus. I’m just out of school and not in much debt (besides school loans), but reading this blog always keeps me focused on staying out of it, and I hope knowing the inspiration this blog brings will keep you focused on your goals as well. Good luck!
loading....
Frank wrote: Ouch I’m surprised that someone apparently as “together” as you hasn’t been saving for this already *AND* doesn’t have an emergency fund.
Well, I *had* an emergency fund, but it was drained for an emergency.
I’m rebuilding it. Also, I made estimated payments throughout 2007 for GRS income, but I earned more than I had anticipated. I haven’t been saving more yet because I knew that I could save the revenue from early 2008 to go to those taxes. I’m in the process of setting up a better system, though — one where I save taxes right along and earn interest on the money while it’s in a high-yield account. I’ll have a better idea of how all this will work once we actually do our taxes…
loading....
I just finished reading the “Presentation Zen” Book, and think Garr Reynolds approach was spot on. He worked very closely with New Riders Press, and published regular updates on his blog on how it was going. NRP sounded like great partners.
Good luck with the book JD! Looking forward to holding one
loading....
The person who thinks your three goals are weak is insane! Those are three significant goals!
loading....
[...] I was reading about your progress on your goals, and thought that you would be interested in my own personal experience with tipping the debt [...]
loading....
I would urge you to write a book but don’t give in to the big publishers. Keep all of the rights to your work and self publish using one of the various on demand printing services -> http://www.google.com/search?q=self+publishing+a+book
Cut out the middle man and sell direct to your fan base.
loading....
I agree with the commenter who said you should begin exercising now. In the weight-loss plan, get healthy slowly is the right way to do it. So, right now begin to exercise. You can walk 5 minutes a day. You’ll see that it helps to boost your metabolism AND starts the habit. And that will eventually cause you to walk/ride/etc. more.
I’ve begun to encourage others on this topic at believernet.blogspot.com and would appreciate your comments on this site as I watch your progress here, too.
Thanks!
loading....