A Spiral of Success
Posted by Gail | Filed under Life Lessons
Have you ever looked up a spiral staircase? The stairs turn in and around on themselves over and over. They’re very beautiful. And they demonstrate something so many of us can learn from: one step at a time, even a very small step, can take you from where you are now to where you want to be. Just take that first step. Then the next. Up you go.
Getting to DFF, accumulating a stash of cash to send your kids to university or college, setting up an emergency fund can all feel like impossible feats. When you look at the demands on your time, how will you ever manage to keep up with your spending journal? And if your buddy just will not keep his or her hand out of your pocket, how will you ever save the money you want for retirement?
It is so easy — so much easier — to just keep on doing what you’ve always been doing. But if you don’t change the behaviour, you won’t change the outcome. So today’s the day you take your first step on the spiral staircase to success.
Change one thing. Just one thing. If you’ve never been good at tracking your spending, make a label and stick it to your wallet. The label says, “Ask for a receipt.”
Collect a receipt everywhere you go. Even if you buy a cup of coffee, get a receipt. Make it a habit to ask for a receipt.
Once you’ve established the habit of asking for a receipt, get a notebook and every night enter all the receipts for the day in the notebook.
Once you get used to tracking what you’re spending, start using your notebook as a spending journal, deducting what you’ve spent from your balance to keep track of your money’s ins and outs.
Got that down pat? Now it’s time to enter your transactions against your monthly budget. Don’t know how? Well, maybe that was trying to take two or three steps at once. More distance covered, but a lot more effort. Too hard? Step back a stair or two.
Try again.
Figure out how to make a budget. Then start tracking your actual spending against your budget to see how you’re using your money.
Whatever it is you’re trying to do, break it down into the smallest possible steps and then take one step at a time. Feel secure on that step. Know where you are. Then take the next step.
Your progress may be a little slower, but you’ll feel safe in every step you take. And you’ll spiral your way to success
September 30, 2011 at 6:22 am
[...] I liked her recent article on A Spiral of Success where she encouraged readers to take that one small step that will change behavior for the better. You can read it yourself here. [...]
September 30, 2011 at 7:03 am
It’s true, as you begin to make yourself do something, eventually it’s a habit. You can make doing a good thing a reflex. Kinda cool.
September 30, 2011 at 7:26 am
This advice applies to so much more than financial matters – good reminder for many goals that, as a whole seem mighty, but as one step at a time seem possible. Thanks, Gail.
September 30, 2011 at 7:34 am
Rome was not built in a day
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
September 30, 2011 at 8:23 am
I can give a hearty thumbs-up to Gail’s message. My husband has just been unexpectedly laid off after 18 years with the same company, and at his age is unlikely to find a similar position in the same field. When we sat down to take stock of our situation, we found that, because we made the effort to live a frugal (but not deprived) lifestyle, we could live on my income if necessary and still not touch any of our savings. In fact, we would still be able to add to our retirement savings, though certainly more slowly than before. That’s the worst-case scenario, and it’s a pretty good one. Making small but careful adjustments in our spending over the years has now given us some breathing space to make decisions about our future, for which I’m very grateful.
September 30, 2011 at 8:57 am
Hi Gail,
The steps can be realy quick : i was in debt of 10.000$ in december 2010. Today my credit card is empty : 5,000$ refund. With a annual income of 18.000$ is not so bad : i will be debt free in 12 months.
Following you, i changed my lind about money, and it changed my life ! I’m realy proud of this mooving !
September 30, 2011 at 10:18 am
Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. This is my new mantra. It isn’t easy though. Your comfort zone is sooooo small really. It does get a little easier going past it, you just have to push yourself a bit.
September 30, 2011 at 10:32 am
Love the message – pulling out a pretty notebook today!
September 30, 2011 at 11:10 am
This are great tips to get us started towards financial freedom. Thanks Gail, you really are the best.
September 30, 2011 at 11:56 am
Stick to the centre of the spiral (stay focused) and you can ascend faster!
September 30, 2011 at 12:16 pm
Hi there Gail. Have you thought about doing a blog post on using technology to help manage your finances? I have an Android phone, and there is a great free app called ‘easy envelope’ that gives you virtual envelopes to put your money into. You can then enter each of your transactions into the appropriate envelope, and it will track how much you have left for that week (or two weeks, or monthly, depending on what settings you use). I love it – it’s much easier than writing everything down and adding it up myself at the end of the day, and it really helps keep me on track with my spending. I’m sure there are lots of other apps out there as well to look at. Just a thought. Keep up the great work!!
September 30, 2011 at 2:36 pm
This year, I started taking small steps with my finances – first, I took a long hard look at my spending habits and realised that I was overspending each month. Then I set up a realistic budget, one that lets me live and pay off debt instead of accumulating more debt. I’ve now started putting money towards savings; I set up a small automatic deduction on each payday. It;s not much but it’s something.
It’s funny…. taking these small steps with my finances is spilling into other parts of my life. I’ve realised that I have stress and anxiety issues which I need to deal with, which shopping was probably helping to mask, which I am now starting to deal with by going to see people who can help me.
And I have Gail to thank because watching her show is what made me sit and take a good look at my finances in the first place!! Thank you!
September 30, 2011 at 3:00 pm
One step at a time…and often the first step is the hardest! I work full time with two young kids in daycare and I am also working on completing my CGA. I often find it really hard to get started on my studying after a long day or week at work. It can be really depressing to have to spend so much of my free time working over time or doing school work when it feels like everyone else gets to actually enjoy their time off.
There are always lots of reasons why I don’t feel like or want to do what I should do. I am also guilty of dropping at least a few courses over the years simply because I had difficulty in taking the first step. When you are taking a new course ever 12 weeks and only have 1 week in between, it doesn’t take long before not taking the first step bits you in the *** big time!
I am very much trying to work on this issue, because if I am ever going to finish this journey, I MUST keep taking the first step on a daily or weekly basis!!!
September 30, 2011 at 3:58 pm
Meghan wrote “when it feels like everyone else gets to actually enjoy their time off” It feels that way because people brag about the fun stuff they do and few brag about cleaning toilet. Somewhere in the world, someone is probably cleaning a toilet right now!
September 30, 2011 at 5:54 pm
Using an app like “SPENDING” allows u to track income and expenses & then u can upload to your PC. I enter receipts every day and only file those necessary. You can see everyday how much u spend per category… It makes me ask myself when I shop “is this what u want to spend your money on”?
September 30, 2011 at 5:57 pm
LOL So true Marie! @ Meghan – If it’s any consolation, you’re not alone! I also have 2 small children (1 still in daycare) and I teach so I constantly bring home work. I feel like everyone else is having fun too. In fact, I don’t always look forward to weekends since it means marking, cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, etc. Hang in there and allow yourself some fun too!
Tip: from Flylady – set a timer for 20 min. to do schoolwork and then take a little break. Then another 20, etc. When you know it’s only 20 min, you’d be surprised what you can get done!
September 30, 2011 at 6:01 pm
By the way Gail, great blog! I love spiral staircases – especially the one at Chateau Chambord in France – double-helix staircase where you never see the other person. It’s a thing of beauty!
October 1, 2011 at 3:24 pm
Another wonderful post – you’re absolutely right, change doesn’t have to happen overnite, just forming one good habit can get you on your way and you probably won’t even feel the pain of leaving your comfort zone. I also love the idea of using an app for that – and there are quite a few. It’s rare these days to find someone out and about without their smartphone. Using an app to enter in purchases on the spot will save you time, save paper and help you avoid the risk of losing those all important receipts. Some apps will even do the math for you – you just have to find the right one that fits your needs.
October 4, 2011 at 3:43 pm
thanks for the advice. Step by step we accomplish anything. But how do we manage to keep at it over a long period of time? I am guilty of starting the budget but not passing a month. Any advice???
October 7, 2011 at 9:32 am
[...] The Spiral of Success (Gail Vaz-Oxlade). In order to get to where we want to go – financially, or otherwise – it helps a lot to break the journey down into smaller steps. [...]