Make and achieve outrageous goals
There are times where we can get stuck in a personal finance rut. Instead of taking an interest in where our money is going, we just go through the motions – like saving X% for retirement, not keeping a balance on our credit cards, and spending less than we make. We’re all guilty of it from time to time. And while it’s so easy to pat myself on the back for a job well done, I always know that I can do better.
I like challenging myself, so I’m always thinking of ways to spark the competitive nature inside of me in order to achieve a goal that might seem a little extreme. Like trying to get out of over $20,000 worth of debt in less than 12 months. Or trying to spend $100/month on groceries. Or working 60-70 hours/week. Or going a year without buying clothing or going out for lunch. Or deciding to live in a tiny apartment. Thinking outside the box and trying something different makes life interesting, and along with helping you get to your goals faster, it also makes personal finance fun.
Often times we tell ourselves we can’t do something because it makes us uncomfortable, or it seems to hard, or it seems to unrealistic. But that’s when you know you’ve set your goal properly. When you constantly set goals that you know are attainable – like saving $200/month into your Emergency Fund, even though you have it auto-deducted from your bank account – while it’s still a great accomplishment, you’re not reaching your full potential. You can accomplish anything if you put your mind to it.
Maybe going a year without shopping or spending $100 on groceries isn’t realistic for you – but the personal finance community is full of people making and achieving outrageous goals. Punch Debt has invested thousands of dollars to launch Manteresting. Fabulously Broke is a freelancer and spent the last year traveling the world. Tim Stobbs is going to retire by 45. Kerry Taylor‘s dream wedding cost her $239. All of these people have done so much more than just monitoring their money – they’ve made extreme decisions that some might disagree with, but have done the right decision for their lives and their own personal goals. And I think that’s really amazing.
There will always be people trying to bring you down when you want to think and act differently. You’re never going to please everyone. According to some, there are people laughing behind my back from the choices that I’ve made in my life. And I’m okay with that. Haters are a part of life, so just ignore them. Don’t let them stop you from making your life so much better. :)
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Good Post; I think you make some valid points. It almost makes sense to say
‘Harder Goals are Easier to Obtain’
:D
savvy scot´s latest post —> I’ve Got my Baby Back :)
Thanks for the update! I liked your advice, made me feel better about my own situation :) Keep on keeping on!
Thanks for the list of inspiring PF bloggers… including you, of course, for quitting your job and moving to Europe.
Great article. Totally agree with your feelings on setting goals that are real easy. Truth is, I would rather set a goal too high and not reach it, than set a goal too low and barely beat it. No need to worry about people laughing behind your back, it doesn’t matter what decision you make, it is still going to happen regardless. As long as you know the reasons for making a decision and are happy with them, thats all that matters.
Stan´s latest post —> Our First Budget
I absolutely agree. I’d much rather push myself and fail, than take the easy road and barely succeed. :)
Great post! I need to push myself more.
Michelle´s latest post —> A LONG depressing post about my Dad
Hey its your life you have made the choice to live a certain lifestyle. I would simply ignore the hatefull comments. A blog site IS for discussion sometimes you need a thick skin. You have to admit your spending/savings choices are really extreame to some people so you open yourself to some less then kind comments. Even the negative people visiting your site I assume would calculate into your overall site visits which must play into the income it generates you. So think of that rather then the negativity.
I have been subcribed to your feed automatically for quite some time now. My main reason for that was for your financial advice/commentary/savings tips/that kind of material. I must admit i feel your writing style has changed and it seems to have become more like a diary of your journey through Europe now and there is less of what I had come to expect from GMBMFB. I hope that is temporary. I also feel that earlier on you wrote a lot more from your heart and you had this firey passion simply to write for the sake of writing.
I hope writing this does not lump me together with the “hater” group.
I’m coming up on 5 years of blogging, and through this blog and Moneyville, I have had to grow some pretty thick skin. But comments that have nothing to do with what I’m writing about, and are a deliberate personal attack on me – it’s just inappropriate. And I know that it comes with the territory, since I’m putting my life on the internet … but it’s just so easy for people to hide behind a computer screen and be vicious.
I absolutely encourage constructive criticism like yours. I appreciate it, and I understand where you’re coming from. Things have changed a lot in the past couple of months, and now that I’m settling into a routine, things should get back to where they once were.
Paul N – Krystal got her heart broken and is going through a quarter life crisis. What’s that book, Eat Pray Love? That’s what’s happening.
I just feel bad for her. She’s hateful on other blogs w/ her snippety comments, so I feel it’s right to just give it right back. No guy will want a used 30+ year old woman with no money.
Please show me ONE example of how I’ve ever been “hateful” on other blogs.
I read a post recently that talked about how much progress the poster might see if they went ‘all in’ (as in cut their spending as much as possible to pay off as much debt as possible). That got me thinking and this post seems to fall along the same lines. It made me think about how I can push myself a bit out of my comfort zone to see some really inspiring progress. I may have to set some new goals…
Marianne´s latest post —> Slashing Expenses: Unsubscribing…
Great post Krystal!
I felt so uncomfortable when I actually did the math for my 2012 income goal and realized I can only count on about 82% of it. Where is the other 18% going to come from? I have no idea.. and that’s such a big number too. It’s scary, and I can just give up now but I feel like pushing myself and seeing what happens.
Likewise when I set the goal to contribute $5,000 to my TFSA this year but only have planned contributions for $4,000 of that. Where is the extra $1,000 going to come from? No idea, but not knowing is what’s going to push me to find a way.
Bridget´s latest post —> What should your net worth be at 30?
A million dollars by 30. Let’s do this.
Wellllll…. I’ll be 30 this year, so maybe not. :P
Even if we don’t manage to achieve some “unreachable” goals… we’ll still have achieved more than we would have otherwise. Not having goals = complacency. It’s good (and healthy) to push the limits and strive to do bigger and better things.
Julie @ Freedom 48´s latest post —> Giving New Life to Old Kitchen Cupboards
It’s good to have goals. The reason why you have achieved so much is because you’ve set goals and stuck to them. I really admire that. I’ve been feeling like I’m in a PF rut, so this is a good kick in the pants to take that feeling and turn it into something constructive.
Well Heeled Blog´s latest post —> Financially Ready To Have Kids?
This post is so true and cannot be reposted enough. Thanks Krystal. In regards to the haters, they are just jealous and need to be disregarded. Even I’m guilty of being jealous on numerous occasions. Feel free to disregard me too :)
Why don’t you practice what you break Krystal? Living in a shoebox and having no career is not really an amazing feat. It is outrageous in the fact that it’s outrageously stupid to go with your rebound guy to Germany.
What’s up with Canadian bloggers nowadays? Is it b/c there is no innovation in your country and tax rates are high that nothing amazing comes out of Canada except for hockey?
@Cyril: I think you have some angry issues, and this is NOT the place to express them. Please set up a blog yourself and express your option about “used woman” (that sounds really sexist, don’t you think?) and Canada at large over there.
My option is that you have too much time in your hands. If you are a productive person like you say you are you wouldn’t be sitting in front of a computer leaving multiple comment on the same blog. Don’t you have better things to do?
[...] Krystal Yee from Give Me Back My Five Bucks wrote about making some outrageous goals. [...]
“There are times where we can get stuck in a personal finance rut. Instead of taking an interest in where our money is going, we just go through the motions – like saving X% for retirement, not keeping a balance on our credit cards, and spending less than we make.”
That doesn’t sound like a rut to me, that sounds like winning — you’ve managed to internalize the personal finance lessons, so now you can achieve your basic goals of saving and sticking to a budget and staying out of debt on autopilot. You can shift your focus to other parts of your life if you like.
Either way, congrats!
Potato´s latest post —> The Wealthy Barber Returns
Hi Krystal
Inspiring stuff. I have subscribed after coming over here from a link.
I like your attitude to hecklers too. Is Cyril a woman’s name over there? Here it’s only for the guys but I never met a man who was familiar with eat,love,pray.
Lizzie
xx
[...] I want to make some financial goals for the year and post them here for the added accountability. This post over at ‘Give Me Back My Five Bucks’, inspired me to make them lofty! (But not too [...]