Wow, you’ve done it!! You’ve been committed, responsible, focused, motivated and hopefully encouraged to make some positive, impactful financial changes these past 52 weeks. We’ve had 51 week of previous challenges that have encouraged taking baby steps in most all of the financial areas of life. That means that you are 51 steps closer to your goals, 51 GIANT steps further than you were a year from now, having taken 51 steps of positive growth with 51 resultant steps of financial changes. We hope your life is showing the fruit of your hard work and dedication!
But…it doesn’t stop here. In fact, our financial progress and impact become more and more fruitful each and every year we have done this challenge. It NEEDS to be done every year. And the results are more positive than the year before. It amazes us how keeping track and focusing on these small tasks (instead of dwelling on the overwhelming, enormous , unachievable, and big picture) makes all of the difference. For us, that overwhelming, enormous , unachievable, big picture of paying off over $100k of consumer debt was too much to handle. It basically paralyzed us for a few years. Which is why we kept failing and jump back on the bandwagon to fall off again.
But, the 2×2 plan and baby steps helped us to focus, kept us motivated as we achieved the small steps in front of us (which didn’t seem small, but compared to the big picture, they were!) and ultimately met our big goal of paying off $100k in just over 3 years of doing these tasks and small steps.
Now, this challenge is not just for the debtor, or the deep in debt like we use to be. It is for EVERYONE! No matter what your financial goals and challenges may be, there are always positive, necessary steps anyone can take in any situation. For example, if you are in a GREAT financial situation currently, then instead of paying off $100k of consumer debt you could add another $100k to your savings/investments? What if you could pay off your home sooner and truly be a home-owner (not a step-in for the bank). What if you could give your children and grandchildren that Biblical inheritance? These are things that are becoming quite rare. The last couple of generations of responsible money-savers is disappearing. Our society does not make it easy for anyone to live within their means, save money, pay cash, stay out of debt, etc. That message is not a popular one, but it needs to be.
We want to reverse the current societal trend and not spend into oblivion!
Be the voice of reason, change, responsibility and go against the flow. Your family, your children, your grandchildren will all thank you! Pass this to your children and grandchildren. Teach, show, practice, follow and engage in responsible money practices.
That’s why we want to encourage you to begin this challenge again as step #52. Think about where you were a year ago, think about how this year will be better and where you will be a year from now? Even if you didn’t meet some lofty goal, the fact is if you followed this challenge that you are most likely in a much better position than you were a year ago no matter what your end results were. And we are so thankful to have heard from many of you that you even surpassed your goals and are making HUGE headway.
It all starts with one little step….and that one little step this week is to sign-up again and begin again. Be more committed than you were last year and MAKE THIS HAPPEN this year!
Go to the beginning of the challenge HERE (use a different email address if you can – otherwise contact us if you need help) to continue on and make it a better year than last!
For those NEW to this whole Challenge – Go to the beginning HERE and experience, enjoy and work towards amazing financial progress!
And if you want to also engage in more challenges for other areas of life like health, whole life, organization and more, see our Challenges Page HERE. They range from one-week challenges to year-long challenges – most are 30-days!
Need to catch up? Come join us on this challenge from the very beginning by clicking on the 52-Week Take Back Your Finances Challenge and sign up to start receiving your automated challenge from the very beginning!
One final thing…we also have a Facebook Group where you can engage in discussions, receive encouragement and talk to others that are participating in the challenges too for more ideas! Head to the Be Intentional with The Thrifty Couple Facebook Page HERE and ask to join us there! You can also invite friends and spouses too!
Disclaimer: We are not licensed financial planners. We are only a couple that have been just a hair-breadth away from bankruptcy and found our way out of debt with a goal to now help others. Please make sure to consider any advice given on our site and in this challenge as tips we have used ourselves; they may not work for everyone. If you have questions please make sure to contact a licensed professional.
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