A lot of people use the ringing in of the new year as a symbol for a new beginning. We all want to make promises to ourselves to change our lives for the better. Often times, this involves making fitness goals or removing toxic people. If we are going to make these promises to ourselves we should include our financial fitness as well.

Health

You can go to the gym and fix your diet, but unless you continue these behaviours on a consistent basis, they will not work. Habits are only good if you practice them consistently over an extended period of time. Eventually a habit becomes so ingrained in our lives that it does not require any will power to continue to do. This is the power of a habit. Good or bad, a habit is hard to break. Forming a new, healthy habit is one of the best ways to improve your life.

The same holds true for financial fitness. You can become financially free with a few small habits that, if repeated consistently for a long time, will yield results. There is no magic to losing weight just as there is no special witchcraft involved in getting rich. You just need to form good habits and be self disciplined enough to stick to it.

By eating right and exercising you will feel better, look better, and have more energy and probably improve the quality of your life in general. The same could be said for getting your financial act together. By spending less than you earn and investing on a consistent basis, you will generally increase the quality of your life as well:

Less stress - You won’t be worrying about how to make ends meet every month. Stress affects our health in negative way, so removing money worries will help us live longer.
More free time - Time is our most precious commodity. If you had additional passive income arriving every month, you would feel like you have the option to work or not. Choosing how you spend your time is an essential component of freedom. Maybe you would have more time to go to the gym.
Charity - You can make the world a better pace if you have excess money. Give to people in need or support an organisation you believe in.
Balance - In the same vien as time, when we have money we have the flexibility to balance our lives between working and leasuire. We can afford that tropical vacation in February or that weekly massage.
Optimism - By have a goal and striving towards it, we give ourselves a sense of purpose, which has been shown to be another essential component of overall happiness and contentment. A financial freedom plan is a great way to engage our minds towards a worthy goal. Just having a plan and sticking to it makes us happy. It is the journey as much as the destination as they say.

So when you are brainstorming your list of New Years resolutions, I suggest you make your financial health a part of it too. If you are looking for a place to start, my books and online courses are a great resource to help you formulate a plan to achieve financial freedom. I also recommend these books as a way to help you get started.

I hope you make your new years resolutions with a long term perspective in mind. Create a life that is full and prosperous by forming good habits that are a part of your everyday routine. You will be amazed how much you can achieve by taking one step at a time.