Music Mondays - Big Girls Don't Cry

Holiday FatnessWe are just about a week past the holiday season, how is your financial picture? For most of my clients, despite the fact that we talked and planned for a better way to financially manage through the holidays, I know that they are not as financially healthy as they should be from their holiday spending. Just like a Weight Watchers leader is stressed about his or her client’s overeating during the holidays, a financial planner is stressed about his or her client’s overspending during the holidays. The fact is, the spending is over. Even if you were “bad,” the damage is done and now is the time to deal with it. I play this song for client’s who get upset about poor financial choices they have made in the past. The reality is that unless you can return and get refunded for those poor choices, you can’t cry over it. You can only “put your big girl panties on” and deal with the after effects.Big Girl PantiesIf you got carried away this holiday season, stop thinking about what you did wrong and figure out how you are going to make it right. Here are 5 steps to take to manage through this:1)   Assess the damage – Is it on your credit card? Did you hit your savings?2)   Make a plan for fixing it – Create a realistic budget for 2014. In your 2014 budget, plan for your 2014 holiday spending. Figure out what you are going to cut out from now until your “fix” your holiday spending. Just as you overeat during the holiday and have to eat better in January and February, you need to do the same financially.3)   Give yourself specific dates and goals – Just as we are more successful at work with deadlines and specific goals, we need to create the same for our financial goals. Determine when you would like to “fix” your financial mess and put those dates in your calendar.4)   Review your progress – This exercise is only valuable if you constantly review it and check in on your progress. Put weekly calendar reminders in your phone or computer to make you aware of your check-in time.5)   Celebrate your success – Once you “fix” your holiday issues, celebrate. Give yourself a small reward like a mani/pedi or bottle or wine to celebrate your financial responsibility.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agrXgrAgQ0U