#28 Money Mindset: Navigating Holiday Finances and Setting the Stage for a Prosperous 2024

Let's deep dive into mastering your money mindset as we approach the end of the year. Are you unintentionally "mailing it in" with your finances, budget, or income? Explore the common pitfalls of letting financial goals take a backseat during the holiday season and share practical insights on choosing priorities over instant gratification. Discover the importance of strategic rest, intentional planning, and the long-term impact of your current financial decisions. Learn how to set yourself up for success in 2024, walking into the new year with more peace, joy, and financial clarity.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, Amazon Music, Audible, Google Podcasts, or whatever your favourite place to listen is! Or Watch on YouTube below!

Spotify Apple Podcasts

I've been doing some serious reflection on our approach to finances as we approach the end of the year. Are you finding yourself just mailing it in with your budget and income, much like taking a backseat at work or putting off your side hustle? I get it; life gets busy, and sometimes we unintentionally shift our focus away from our financial goals.

Choosing Priorities Over Holiday Hurdles

Let's be real – the holiday season is upon us, and it's easy to get swept up in the festivities. However, even with the joy of the season, it's crucial to stay focused on our financial priorities. Since the beginning of the month, I've noticed a common trend: people inadvertently starting to "mail it in," letting their budget and financial goals take a backseat to holiday cheer.

Taking Control of Your Budget

But here's the thing – you have the power to choose your priorities. Whether it's entering 2024 with a boosted income, a smaller credit card bill, or less financial stress, the choice is yours. Your budget is a reflection of your values, and the decisions you make now will impact your financial well-being in the long run.

The Pitfall of Instant Gratification

In a world obsessed with instant gratification, it's essential to remember that the results of your actions may not be immediate. If you choose to "mail it in" now, you might not feel the consequences until 60 to 90 days down the road. Picture this: discomfort, regret, and financial strain. Not exactly the ideal way to kick off a new year, right?

Strategic Rest and Reflection

Sure, the holiday season is a time for rest, celebration, and reflection. It's perfectly okay to carve out intentional time for these activities. But, even in the midst of the festivities, find ways to keep your foot on the gas. Maybe it's a slower pace, but it's essential not to coast entirely. Strategic planning now will set the stage for a prosperous 2024.

Your Choices Shape Your Future

Life is a series of choices, and your financial decisions today will shape your tomorrow. So, how can you show up for yourself, even if it's at a slower speed? Consider this: intentional rest, celebration, and commitment to your financial goals. Remember, what you want most should guide your choices over immediate desires.

Building a Foundation for 2024

As we stand on the brink of a new year, let's set ourselves up for success. Choose wisely, keep your foot on the gas, and watch as your efforts bear fruit in the months to come. Imagine walking into 2024 with more peace, joy, and financial clarity, rather than playing catch-up due to choices made during the holiday season.

In the end, it's about what you want most, not just what you want right now.

Here's to a financially empowered you in 2024! 🚀✨

Transcription:

00:00

Are you mailing it in in your finances, in your budget, in creating more income? You're just like mailing it in at work. You're not working on your side hustle. You're deciding. Subconsciously, those things don't matter. You're just like, we're going to take a break. Now, you may or may not have done this consciously yet. Here's the thing. So many people are like.

00:29

No, I'm going to like, you know, keep showing up and then I'll take a few days off around Christmas and and back at it. What are you really? Or are you mailing it in already? We're still 12 days away from Christmas or 11 days away from Christmas, whatever, 12 days when I record this. Are you mailing it in? Have you like already checked out for the rest of the year? You're like, 2023, I'm over it.

00:59

We'll try again in the new year. Here's the thing.

01:04

Since before even the first of the month, I've seen a shift in people where they've started mailing it in, where all of a sudden the focus and the priorities are all around Christmas. And while that's not a bad thing, we wanna celebrate the season. I'm not saying be a Grinch and Scrooge and work on Christmas Day at all. But you get to choose what your priorities are.

01:33

Same with your budget. You get to choose if you're going to blow your whole budget or if you get to say, you know what, what I want most is to go into 2024 with more income and continue to work your business. What I want to go into, what I want most is to go into 2024 with a smaller credit card bill for Christmas. What I want and what I'm choosing to be a priority.

02:04

is to walk into a new year with less stress financially, having stayed on budget.

02:15

You get to choose what you want most.

02:19

over what you want right now. This is huge. So many people.

02:29

Just mail it in. They're like, you know what? We're done. We're over it. But this is, if you mail it in for the whole month, like, it's the 12th of the year. That's a big chunk of the year. 31 days is a long time. 15 days is a long time. 12 days is a long time. 10 days, whenever you're listening to this, when it gets published. That's a long time to mail in. You can accomplish a lot.

02:58

in 10 days. You can accomplish a lot in a week. You might not see the results from it right now, but you will see the results from it down the road.

03:12

So how can you show up? How can you carve out time and put it on your calendar? Where are you taking more rest? Maybe that means maybe you're not in a season where you need to, want to the most, go all out. And that's okay. But where do you want to still keep your foot on the gas? Even if you let off a little bit.

03:39

But you still keep it on the gas. You don't just mail it in and coast the rest of the way.

03:47

So look at that, carve out rest, put it on your calendar cake. I'm doing these fun things with my family. I'm carving out this time to rest. I'm carving out this time to reflect. I'm carving out this time to celebrate the holiday season and to soak in that. And then I'm still going to, and I'm still committed to, and I am deciding to still show up for these places, for this, for my budget, for creating an income,

04:17

the effort, putting in the effort, wherever that, whatever that looks like for you in your life right now.

04:27

you get to decide what's most important over what's important right now.

04:36

You get to choose if you mail it in. But you might feel some discomfort 60 to 90 days down the road after that. That's the thing is it's not necessarily instant. We're so trained to go after the instant gratification.

04:54

And then 60 to 90 days down the road, maybe sooner than that, maybe later than that, you're like, why is this happening? Why am I feeling this way? Why do I feel this discomfort and pain? I don't want this credit card debt. I see the dip in my income where I didn't do the work and now I'm seeing where the income isn't increasing like I had planned on it being. What you do now matters for down the road.

05:24

How are you gonna set yourself up for success in 2024? How are you gonna set yourself up so that you can walk into 2024 with more peace, more joy, more clarity, get ahead of the game, instead of going into it with more stress and like, well, I took that time off, now I have to do double time to try to catch up and it's gonna be like.

05:50

delayed and I'm not going to see it for, you know, till down the road and like, Oh my goodness.

05:56

you get to choose. That's what life is, right? It's choices. Okay, how can you show up? Might be at a slower speed, but still keep your foot on the gas. How can you also carve out intentional time for rest? Because it is a time of rest and of celebration, celebrating Christmas and the birth of our Savior and all of those pieces. Remember, what do you want most over what do you want right now?