February is almost over – can you believe we’re already 2 months into 2025? This is about the time every month where I encourage you to Review, Reflect, and Prepare for your financial independence.
How’s the month been going? Practice observing without judging. To learn the art of observation without our judging mind taking over is a process. So it’s why I include the “review” portion at the beginning our process!
Review
To review is to look back and notice what’s been happening. Just notice. Make a list. Maybe your list will look like this:
- I observe that I spent within my budget in the category of clothing.
- I observe that I rebalanced my portfolio this month.
- I observe that I did not think about my goal of buying a vacation home this month.
I realize it may sound a bit silly to you the way I wrote this … “I observe that …”. I mean, really, who walks around talking like that? The reason I wrote it that way is because I want you to practice saying that to yourself, out loud or in your head. It’ll feel a bit weird at first, but I promise you’ll get used to it. It’s designed to train your brain to simply observe things as they are. No judgment.
Reflect
Once you have a list of what you’ve observed this month, now it’s time to do some reflecting. Here’s where you start to notice how your list made you feel and the associated thoughts. So, “I observe that I spent within my budget in the category of clothing” might be associated with a sense of pride! Perhaps this was an area where it’s been easy to overspend, and this was the month you made your goal happen!
Pause here for a second and ask yourself why.
Why this month?
What was going on this month that contributed to that win?
What choices did you make or not make?
Notice anything within you or around you that contributed (or didn’t) to you achieving this goal. Make note of it – it will help as you reach step 3 … prepare.
Prepare
Now that you’ve reviewed and reflected, it’s time to prepare. From your work in the previous two steps, look forward to next month. What will you continue doing in March that’s been helpful in February? What will you stop doing that has been less than helpful? What will you try that’s different that you suspect will help you meet a goal?
Here are some other tried and true methods of preparing for next month (or next year or any time period you decide on):
Cash Flow – understand it:
- Have you reviewed your cash flow for the upcoming month? Does every dollar have a job?
- Do you have a sense of your overall annual cash flow?
This is an easy step to overlook, but a critical one to keep you away from dipping into savings (when those dollars weren’t intended to cover overspending) or relying on credit to bridge the gap.
Spending Plan – make one:
What’s coming up in March that you need to plan for?
- Birthdays
- Weddings
- Anniversaries
- Job hunting expenses
- Is it time to buy new contacts?
- When’s car registration due?
- Is spring break coming up in the next few months?
Savings Plan
- Do you have a system in place to save every month for short-to-mid-term goals (less than 5 years away)?
- How’s your emergency fund looking?
Investing Strategy
- If you’re in a place where investing is possible for you, how are you implementing it?
- Do you know how your investments are allocated and do you understand them? Do you feel comfortable with these allocations?
- Do you understand the fees you might be paying?
- Is there a clear (or at least clear enough) goal for how you’ll ultimately use this wealth?
What events are coming up that you need to plan for? It’s never too early to think about your dreams and create goals to reach them.
The process of financial planning can help you experience the freedom of an intentional life. My planning process is designed to help you gain clarity and highlight possibilities; through financial education and a straight-forward assessment of your financial snapshot you can gain clarity on the choices you make to reach financial independence.
