Discussion Question of the Week: Actions to take Right Now

Part one of the class is all about starting to design your financial life. My hope is that you see that no matter who you are or where you are right now, you can design the rest of your life however you'd like. Then with some financial education, you can make that design a reality. The key though, is to plan and then take action. Sounds easy enough, but it's not. What is easy, however, is following norms without thought, just taking whatever life gives us, and going in the direction the system we are living in directs us. I know its easy because thats what I did for many years. Society said go to college, so I did. My father suggested I get a business degree, so I did. Social norms said get married and have some kids, so I did. The economic system we live in directed me to a secure, good paying job with a pension, so I took it. It was the norm for everyone around me to get wage income for 40 years then retire, so that was the strategy I adopted. Social norms said this is the lifestyle you should give to your family, so I did. I was already into my 30s before I said wait a minute, this is not the life I would design for myself and my family if I was the designer." Then I woke up and realized I AM the designer.

You too are your own designer. You are the architect of your life. You can decide where you want to live, the different ways you choose to receive income and the options you choose to grow your wealth, how you want your kids to grow up, whom you spend your time around, when you want to stop working and use passive income to cover the cost of living. Some of you may be saying sure, that sounds great for other people, but not for people like me. But what Im talking about is available to everyone, no matter your current economic status, gender, race, etc... Yes, some people will have more obstacles that others. But thankfully we have progressed enough in society that everyone today at least has the opportunity to be their own designer. What it will take to seize that opportunity is a vision, some financial education, a plan, and action.

For this discussion board, I want you to think about the actions you can take right now within the next 15 weeks of this semester to improve your financial situation and start moving toward the life of your design. In this part 1 of the class, you were already asked to write out your financial goals; long term, intermediate, down to short term. Think of the goals in this discussion as your immediate goals things you can do in the next 15 weeks.

First discussion board post (minimum 150 words):

After you have reflected on your vision and thought about where you want to be in the future and where you are right now, share with the class a couple of your immediate goals (to be completed in these next 15 weeks). You dont have to get overly personal, just share a couple things you feel like sharing with a new group of people. Discuss the goals (remember to be S.M.A.R.T.), how you will complete them, why these goals are important to you, and how the completion of these goals will move you closer to the vision of your future. (Please pick real goals that you really plan on doing in the next 15 weeks; because we will return to these goals at the end of the term, see how we did, and share our experiences and challenges in attempting to complete them).

Tips for thinking about immediate goals: These dont have to be grand steps. They just need to be something that can make you a little better off and get you a little closer to your designed life. Here are some categories to consider. Of course, you can write about anything outside of this list as well.

Something you can do to better identify your own values and vision.

Something you can do to decrease spending and increase savings

Something you can do to increase income

Something you can do to better budget / and stick to your budget

Something you can do to reduce debt / improve your credit

Something you can do to prepare for retirement

Something you can do to gather financial information more efficiently

Something you can do to increase financial security (think emergency funds, insurance products)

Something you can do to better manage your cash on hand (think banking)

Something you can do to invest money and grow your wealth

Something you can do gain financial education (besides this class think about books you could read, blogs you can follow podcasts you could start listening too, etc)