How it works

The Freedom 30 program is designed to provide a schedule of weekly money well-being mini-projects to complete on your way to greater financial freedom by the end of the year.

The approach is simple: You set aside 30 minutes each week to perform a specific task aimed at improving your financial standing. The tasks will be laid out for you in themed months, so all you need to do is follow the instructions. Make sure to choose a time each week in which you can really put all distractions aside and focus intently. Try to create as calm and pleasant an atmosphere as possible to make the process go smoothly.

Week 4 Project: Boost your odds of success

As discussed above, reaching your goals takes a plan and a variety of tools and actions to help you achieve your ambitions. Here are some tips to increase your chances of reaching your target amounts successfully.

Start by prioritizing your goals. You might not think this matters if you’re contributing the full amount to each of your goals, but think about both the fat times and the lean times. If you get a bonus or an unexpected windfall, it’s wise to have a plan ahead of time for which of your goals you’d like to speed up your timeframe. On the flip side, if you experience a loss in income or a sudden unexpected expense, knowing which accounts you feel more comfortable withholding funds from for a while can help you weather a difficult time with less stress.

Remember not to beat yourself up. There will likely be times when you aren’t able to put away as much as you’d like. If that’s the case, set a reminder for yourself to revisit where you’re at in 3 months. That way, you keep sight of where you need to be to reach your goal.

Put your raises toward your goals. When you get a salary or hourly wage increase at work, you tend to think about having nicer things or taking fancier vacations. While treating yourself a bit is always part of a solid financial plan, so too is using that extra income to speed up your goal attainment.

Frame your spending decisions in terms of whether it’s getting you closer to or farther away from what matters most to you. For example, if you want to upgrade your perfectly fine vehicle to a newer, sleeker model, ask yourself if that will ultimately add the most joy to your life in the big picture.

Having a goal buddy along for the ride can help tremendously with keeping your focus and enduring challenging times. Just having a supportive, nonjudgmental person to talk with about your victories and setbacks can help you remove the anxiety of getting where you want to be.

Takeaway: When this week’s session is over, you should feel greater confidence in your ability to achieve true money mastery.

For next week: Start thinking about some of the unnecessary expenditures you think do the most damage to your goal attainment.