I am often asked about my success and what my special recipe is or the secret elixir to create success. I wish I could attribute it to something innovative or profound. But that is not the case. Truly, my success comes down to two key things: consistency and laziness.
While many can understand how consistency plays into success, most look at me in disbelief and quizzically when I mention laziness. However, these two personal attributes really have fueled me and have helped me create my success. Let me explain how these two seemingly incompatible characteristics go together.
Outwardly I might appear to be energetic since I always seem to be busy and constantly moving. But actually I am very lazy! Sure I go to the gym and work out, clean things up because I can’t stand clutter and messes, and am task-oriented and success-driven. But when it comes to mundane minutiae, I procrastinate and am simply lazy. I know that about myself; it is not a positive attribute. Because of that, however, I automate everything, so I don’t have to deal with tedious tasks or even spend energy thinking about them. Therefore, I don’t waste time on making daily decisions about money, budgeting, investing, or finances. That is exactly how and why my laziness and consistency play into one another, creating my success.
Stepping back on my road to success, when I got really and totally consumed with my finances, I planned out everything on a spreadsheet which became my blueprint for success. This blueprint is exactly what I guide my academy students to create for themselves, so they can build their own success. Once I had everything mapped out, since I know that I am lazy when it comes to things that I consider to be trivialities, I created ways to put things on autopilot. If there was a way for me to make it one and done, I did it.
This method helped streamline and simplify my life, turning my laziness into success. That, of course, is coupled with consistency. Since I set everything up to be automated, I do not have to think about or worry about trivial matters and can focus on bigger, more important considerations. The following is the breakdown of how much time and effort I spend on each specific task with my finances.
Yearly:
- Investment Allocation Rebalancing
Quarterly:
- Balance Sheet Review
Monthly:
- Budget – thirty minutes every month
Once (set it and assess each as needed): Remember this is NOT an excuse to constantly tinker with your plan. For example, if you have a large life event such as a birth of a child, it may be wise to reconsider insurance needs.
- Plan to reach monthly goals – once decided, it is automated
- Paying bills – set up to be automated and then done
- Investment Accounts – set up to be automated and then done
- Investment Allocations – automated and then done
- Insurances – made decisions, automated and then done
- Trusts and Will – made decisions and completed
- Durable Health Care Power of Attorney – made decision and done
- Financial Power of Attorney – made the decision and done
- Tax Strategy – once decided, it was done
- Investments Plan to Reach Goals – planned then automated
- Investments Resources – all bookmarked on my desktop (if necessary for use)
- Amortization Schedules – set up, then done until debt is paid (I have happily removed this one due to no debt.)
As you can see, I spend little to no time on these activities since they are almost all automated. Again, I am lazy when it comes to spending time doing things that are mundane and monotonous. I took my exact roadmap for success and created Budgetdog Academy to enable everyone to take this approach and free themselves from the mundane and arduous tasks of personal finance. This gives you the luxury of an automated financial plan that will take no more than a half an hour a month. You can confidently set up and automate your finances to help you reach your financial goals as well as free up valuable time. Looking at the time allotment above, you will notice that the only thing I have to spend time on each month is my monthly budget since everything else is automated. But even that is quick and easy.
This is a lazy person’s best friend! The most time consuming part is mapping out the blueprint but once you are through with this part, all you will need to do is put in a minimal amount of effort and watch the automation work.
If you are ready to take control of your finances but don’t want to waste hours a month, The Budgetdog Roadmap is your key to success. It provides every resource you need for paying off your debts, budgeting, and investing. I am always at your disposal for any questions you may have along the way. Your success fuels me, but I also feel your pains and understand your worries. Being consistent will pay off. I teach and have recreated every step that allowed me to pay off $304,000.00 of debt and reach millionaire status so that all my students can have the same success and more. My students learn to stay the course and trust the process and I even give them permission to be lazy – in a good way!
Subscribe to my Youtube as a source of the latest information for all things financial as well as some simple life lessons and inspiration. My mission is to make you successful – as many of you as I can. As long as you put forth the effort and stay with me through this journey, you will be on a great path to financial freedom and success. So what is your elixir to success? What do you want for your future? I think I know the answer. It is within your grasp; you can win.