The Power of Being Intentional

Being intentional is pretty rare in our culture..  as we look around, we see people living in a mountain of debt – credit cards and mortgage payments. We see struggling marriages… a nation that’s in desperate need of better health.  We have a nation of college graduates that are drowning in student loan debt.

The list goes on.

If you want to pay off debt and have an emergency fund, then you need to be intentional.

To we live in a  if you want to have an incredible marriage, you have to be intentional.

If you want to be healthy, and fit, you need to be intentional about exercise, and what you put in your mouth.

If you want your kids to be healthy and you want to avoid being ill throughout the year, you need to be intentional about your eating habits, and your lifestyle.

If you want a better marriage, you have to be intentional about making it work, through thick and through thin, in good times AND in bad.

Most people are not intentional – they live for Fridays..   They can’t wait for the next pay period. They are struggling to pay off their debt but they are at Starbucks buying lattes every morning. They are struggling to find more time in their lives but yet they live their life on Facebook and Twitter. Their relationships leave so much to be desired, but yet it’s too easy to give up too quickly instead of putting in the effort to make it work.

Intentionally moves the needle – you become what you think about… for me, that’s money. Not having money but saving money. Paying off debt. Saving for college funds.

For the last few years, we have talked a lot about saving. I guess you could call us pretty heavy savers. 

Sure, I might not coupon as much (if at all) as I used to in past years, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love to save.  I’m cautious in spending money. I’m always thinking of ways to save, and I’m always trying to examine new areas of my life that I can cut back in, in efforts to put more time and money into other areas. 

I do that by habit, and that habit has been a long time in progress – 20 years in the making.  That habit is not perfect… there are times that I struggle to make sense of my goals of what I want my money to do best for me, for my family.

As I blog about saving, I tend to get tunnel vision with that goal all year long – it’s what I hear most often from friends or even as I peruse through Facebook:

“I can’t save because I don’t have the money.”  

“I can’t save because I don’t have money.”

“I can’t buy Organic food because I don’t make enough money.”

“I can’t stay home with my kids because we don’t make enough money.”

… the list could go on.   Live intentionally and on purpose – one of the best lessons that a person can learn. To do that you must start with a better foundation and then add practical steps on TOP of that.

Don’t just drift through life, day by day, with the same mentality…  make an effort to improve your finances, learn more about the food you eat, and Moms — if you would like to stay home with your babies then find ways to make that a possibility. I wanted so desperately to do that 7 years ago and it was a bumpy road at first but I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Don’t have money? You might be living impulse to impulse, paying everyone else first. You live paycheck to paycheck, and often times sit with the tax preparer and wonder how you made $80,000 a year and aren’t sure where that $80,000 went.  

You might be living for the next pay day… all your money goes out in payments for things you {might not} be able to afford. Instead, forego the credit cards, be intentional with your spending, & find ways to be more intentional about your life, your time and your income. You set goals.. you make it happen. 

Your most powerful wealth building tool is your income; when you opt to give it to everyone else, you won’t be able to intentionally save.  

Realize that your life is made of decisions – you get to pick your attitude and decisions. You don’t have to be stuck in the same pattern of living that you have been for years – everyday is a new opportunity to be intentional about your work ethic, your character, your relationships, and your budget.  

Being intentional requires you to make some changes:

Add practical steps to define a purpose – find a passion to live that is bigger than yourself.

Set goals that are in line with your defined purpose – those goals will introduce intentionality in your life.  

Keep yourself focused – Remove yourself from those distractions that rob you of your time that could be better spent living intentionally (ie. Twitter, Facebook).  

Want to know the truth? Truth of the matter is that everyone has the ability TO save.  

Last year we did a 52 Week Savings Challenge, where we afforded everyone the opportunity to save up to $1,400 over the course of 12 months – by putting away a little each week. We did the SAME project this year too.

At the end of last year’s Savings Challenge, only a handful of people remarked that they had saved. Many made comments that they had a rough year and for whatever reason, weren’t able to save.

There should be NO reason that someone can’t put away $1,400 over 12 months – no matter what hardship was faced, it’s a nominal amount that is easily reached by making a few sacrifices through the year. Forego cable for a year, skip trips to Starbucks – or forego the Christmas gifts.

Some of us choose to confront that situation and find unique ways to make it happen; but others choose to live that paycheck to paycheck lifestyle for several reasons.

You don’t know where your money goes.

In order to assess where your money is coming in and out, you need to have a budget.  And because your income may remain the same but your expenses may fluctuate, you need to do a budget monthly.  Once you establish a budget, you can see where you may need to make changes to cut back on a few items, or pick up a part time job to make some extra money to pay off bills, debt, or even save.

You are shopping too much.

If you are going to a store just to GO to a store, then you are likely going to end up purchasing items you don’t necessarily need. Are you an impulse shopper?   If you DO need to go to the store, bring cash, or a gift card and keep it simple.

You are NOT putting yourself first.

Understand the need to pay yourself first.   Otherwise, if you don’t, you will continue to spend the rest of your life paying everyone else, and putting everyone else first except yourself.

You are NOT committed to saving.

If you are focused and determined to save or pay off debt, then cut those costly commitments and make a commitment to YOURSELF.

You are being lazy.

If you don’t have money to save, or pay off debt but yet you are eating out, shopping clearance tables or can’t control your trigger finger on Amazon.com then you DO have money – you are in the predicament you are in because you can’t control your spending. If you truly want to save, you will make it a priority in your life.

You are living beyond your means.

If you are paying for brand new items such as cars or new furniture, going out to eat, or even an expensive phone or cable package, then you CAN put money in your savings. If you can’t do that, you are living above your means – who cares what others drive, or think of you – all that matters is your family.

Your expenses are more than your income.

Sometimes, taking a break to examine what you are really spending on your household expenses can really open your eyes. Have a $150 Cable Bill? That needs to go – Cut that back and save the difference.

You are spending money on junk.

Are you going to Starbucks daily? Eating out at work daily? Stopping off at Sonic on a daily basis? Those unnecessary expenses add up fast. Those expenses could be the money that you can’t “afford” to save.

Be intentional about your money this year. Be intentional about establishing a savings, or paying down your debt.   Be intentional about your life and your relationships.

If you can forego $100 a month, from age 25 to 65, in a Roth IRA or a Growth Mutual Fund that averages 10%, you will have over one million dollars at the age of 65.  Think retirement is out of reach? It is ONLY out of reach if you keep the same mentality and don’t make it a priority.

The only way to win with your money is to control your behavior. YOU need to change that person you look at in the mirror every day.  The same mentality goes for many areas of life – not just your finances. It goes for your eating habits… your relationships, your job, and your spiritual health.

There is no shortcut to making your life better – no pill you can take to help better your help. There is no shortcut to paying off your debt – there needs to be a focused intensity and a change in mentality to move forward.