Spring is when we can all reconcile whether we’ve kept up our New Year’s resolutions or not. For many, New Year’s is a promise to themselves to lose weight, eat better, spend more wisely, read more books, commit less screen time, and so on. These promises to ourselves feel great for the night and the first couple of days after the year has begun, but how many people actually stay accountable to themselves when the doldrums of late winter set in?
Forbes ran a poll at the end of last year to gather data/statistics to reinforce what most believe: lofty NYE resolutions don’t typically last long. The average time for a resolution to last into the new year is 3.74 months! In fact, a Forbes survey found that 75% of resolutions are dropped within the first five months of the year. So, what does this tell us about ourselves? Are we lazy? Are we easily disenchanted? Or is it something else?
Financial Resolutions – DIY Rarely Equals Success
I will share my New Year’s resolution story of 2024 because it perfectly surmises why most drop resolutions just months into the year. Like many Americans, my goal for the new year was to lose some weight and eat healthier. Fitness and finance-related goals are Americans’ top two resolutions. For me, this trick to success this year would be intermittent fasting. I paid for a fancy calorie-counter app to track my food intake and recognize what hours of the day I should be eating or not eating. It didn’t last long, and now that I’ve had time to reflect on it, I can tell you accountability cannot come via a phone app notification.
For the first week or so of this new intermittent eating diet, I had lost a few pounds and felt healthier and lighter on my feet, but as time went on, the thrill and enthusiasm faded. I would find myself starving most of the day and then gorging when I was allowed to eat. The breaking point for me was one night after a dinner out with my family, including my visiting mother, I was in the car logging calories of the food I had while out, completely missing out on an opportunity to catch up with my mother, who’s not in my life every day. I won’t forget her looking over at me and saying, “What the heck are you doing? You’ve had your face in the phone the entire ride?” as I frustratedly searched for a calorie equivalent to the seafood platter I just enjoyed. That was it for me.
I made the mistake many people make when looking to optimize their lives: We think it’s easy enough to DIY because “there is an app for that,” right? DIY dieting is just like DIY financial planning; just because you’re “all set” doesn’t mean you are optimized.
Financial Resolutions – Accountability Is Key
Looking back on my dieting attempt earlier this year, I can’t help but think about how things may have ended up differently if I had invested in accountability. Sure, a fitness app may have lots of information to share, but does it know me like a trainer/nutritionist would? Certainly not. Will an app’s notification that I’ve crossed my calorie threshold keep me up at night? Certainly not. Would the accountability of seeing a trainer one or two times a week keep me more accountable? Absolutely.
We are so eager to do it ourselves, find an app, and source the one-size-fist-ok solution to our needs, goals, and desires, but life is not that simple. We’re all different, we all communicate and motivate differently, and we must hold each other accountable to get the best results.
Getting Optimized for Success
Losing weight and saving money both involve creating a delta, or a difference, between what you consume or spend and what you retain. Losing weight is about creating a calorie deficit, where you consume fewer calories than you burn – your body taps into its stored fat reserves, resulting in weight loss over time. Saving money involves creating a surplus, where you save more than you spend; a surplus builds over time, increasing financial stability and potential for future growth. Achieving these goals can be as simple as eating less and maxing out your 401k, and if you commit long enough, you will become physically and financially fit. But if you optimize either of these processes, you could retire earlier or get into optimal shape with less friction by having a plan specifically tailored to YOU.
While the goals may be straightforward, the paths are completely nuanced, and with professional guidance, it becomes much clearer how to accomplish what you set out to do. Google can teach you about fasting or Roth IRAs, but it won’t ask you the right questions to determine whether these strategies are optimal for your specific goals. Just as the same foods, workout routines, and mental hurdles will not be the same for everyone joining a fitness class, financial savings, investment, retirement, and inheritance strategies will not be the same for each person walking into a family financial planner’s office.
As a Boston financial planner, I’ve helped multiple generations of families organize their finances and optimize their investments to meet their goals for the present and future.
If you’d like to discuss your family’s financial plan or just go through a list of fad diets, my door is always open!
