Power Boost Your FUTURES!

We've certainly covered a lot of ground over the past weeks, beginning with the FUTURES™ holiday posts that showcased ways to align holiday spending strategies to the principles of financial literacy. More recent posts focused on goal setting and the benefits of service to all. As we wind up this wave of 12 blog posts, let’s take a deep dive into the program to share the incredible value it offers to you, your children, and your community.

Check out Blog 12’s big-picture view of FUTURES’ four program strands: Personal Finance, Economics, Investing, and Entrepreneurship. To inspire you to give the program a try, we included a few worksheets that you can put right to use with your class, family, club, or organization. We’ve dubbed these deep-dive Power Boosts! Each Power Boost provides a glimpse of the program’s approach, the strand’s focus, worksheets, and instruction—that you can immediately use to boost your curriculum—and your own financial literacy strengths!

Power Up for the Future

The FUTURES program simplifies and deconstructs complicated, intricate Financial Literacy concepts to make them relevant and easier to understand for everyone. With the full FUTURES program at your fingertips, you can help your kids better understand the complicated world of finance AND develop their own personal stake in it. Created by teachers for teachers, this proven educational program is FREE and readily available to districts, schools, teachers, coaches, counselors, and families, too!

Real-time, real-world connections help drive everyone’s interest, especially kids’, and create effective links between academic content and the business world. This unique multi-disciplinary approach elevates learning, allowing educators, school districts, families, and community centers to help prepare tomorrow’s leaders—today—so they can compete in and become strong leaders of our ever-changing global marketplace—in their future.

Power Boost 1: Personal Finance IS Personal

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Personal Finance is just that – personal —and as a result, it’s valuable for everyone: kids, teachers, leaders, and families alike. With the help of the FUTURES™ program, kids can begin to more clearly define and understand a budget, the various categories within a budget, learn to create a budget, make budget adjustments, and apply this knowledge in memorable real-world settings. As kids create their own budgets after tracking expenses over time, learning the differences between a job and a career, a need and a want, and many other financial literacy nuances, budgeting becomes familiar and more infused into their learning strategies. From learning how to budget, kids discover the power of giving. Check out this Philanthropy Flow Chart. It’s a great easy-to-include tool to fuel a conversation about how philanthropy works so you can work philanthropy into your daily world.

Like all strands of FUTURES™, the Personal Finance strand is designed to help you “meet your kids where they are.” Each of the program’s 29 sections across all four strands is organized around a Focus Question. For example, the Budget and Goal Setting section asks kids to consider the following: “When, how, and why is it beneficial to manage your money?” It's this kind of personalization that makes the learning process more relevant. It engages and involves the kids, inspiring them to really think about what they might do in a range of financial situations. These are just some of the Personal Finance strategies that help to makes FUTURES such a successful Financial Literacy program.

Power Boost 2: Easy-to-Grasp Economics, Anyone?

Let’s take a look at the second of the four FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™ strands—Economics. What better way to help kids learn to better handle and manage money than by understanding how the system behind it works? This program’s in-depth Economics strand covers a wealth of topics:

• Consumers and Producers

• Currency and Federal Reserve

• Goods and Services

• Scarcity

• Opportunity Cost

• Federal Government Taxes and Role of Government

• Productive Resources

• Specialization and Division of Labor

In this part of the program, a variety of section resources introduce economics concepts using fun activities and familiar real-world scenarios including a city council budget, the fairness of a trade, and how advancements in musical technology impact consumers. Through leveled resources, students will learn the roles of consumers and producers, look at how money is used as a medium of exchange, and examine the trading process from various angles as well as gain an understanding of how goods and services are produced, consumed and exchanged.

Scenarios for All Occasions

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This Scenarios Chart can be universally used to sift through a host of different scenarios in any exploration—even those that go far beyond Economics. This makes a great activity for early finishers, too.

FUTURES guided, easy-to-access lesson plan approach that you can begin to coach your kids to expand their ideas about Personal Finance and Economics. This program helps to explain the larger role of Economics to everyone, while building upon the base understanding from the Personal Finance strand, enlarging the scope of their financial literacy world, carefully explaining how businesses work within their own world and in the greater world view. Clarity about concepts like the flow of money and target markets are vital. These are defined in easy-to-understand language and through engaging worksheets, helping kids can begin to formulate a better understanding of just how much the economy impacts both their own lives and the world around them.

Power Boost 3: Stock Up on Investing Ideas

To inspire kids to explore companies and stocks, start by asking kids what real companies they like—and why. Ask them what they think it would be like to invest in these companies. Help by choosing your favorite company too and going through this activity together. Ask the kids to brainstorm some of their favorite companies and make a list of five favorite companies. Invite them to choose just one for this exercise. By encouraging kids to invest in companies with products they already support and like, they’ll learn a very valuable investing lesson: investors need to understand the company, its end users, the customer base, the market segments, and the company’s philosophies and priorities in order to be a savvy investor.

It's Your Decision

It's important to stress that each kid can make a personal choice about their company—there’s no right or wrong choice. Give kids ample time to think about their choices, favorites, and ultimate decision to help them form their Investment Philosophy, a set of guiding principles that inform and shape their investment decision-making process. Some classic investing philosophies include:

• Value Philosophy

• Fundamental Philosophy

• Growth Philosophy

• Socially Responsible Philosophy

• Technical Philosophy

• Contrarian Philosophy

How to Read Stocks

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Divide students into pairs and distribute copies of the Stock Vocabulary Worksheet to each pair of students. After you’ve reviewed terms and definitions, invite kids to research stock quotes online, working with partners to make predictions on what each term means. Students can record their predicted definitions in the second column of the worksheet. Project the How to Read Stock Tables projectable and guide students in selecting a stock from the Dow or NASDAQ and complete the My Stock Worksheet according to the stock’s quote in the online report.

Students can share their understanding of the terms through their selected stock. Definitions can be revised directly on their copies of the Stock Vocabulary Worksheet as they discuss their findings. Finally, create a large interactive poster of a stock quote table so student groups can follow and record their stock’s quote report using sticky notes to update the display daily. Make sure students also write the date and time to each sticky note update.

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Power Boost 4: Entrepreneurship

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The program’s detailed Entrepreneurship strand covers more than just Entrepreneurship; it covers a wealth of powerful future-focused leadership concepts for kids. From business startup and financing, flow of money, public and private corporations, target markets and the always important social responsibility, kids are able to experience and visualize themselves as entrepreneurial leaders. After all, tomorrow isn’t that far away!

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With the help of fun FUTURES worksheets and games like the ones that follow, kids can unlock a richer grasp of what it means to be an entrepreneur. Kids will also explore the various parts of building and running a successful business, learn how a franchise works, discover the difference between investing in a startup business versus a franchise, and investing in a business and running that same business every single day (and night!). Kids consider various factors for starting a business and the importance of goal setting at the beginning stages of the business—and every single day thereafter.

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The Entrepreneurship strand helps kids explore how they might want to run their own businesses one day—soon. Many of the kid s you know today could soon be ready to start their very own businesses, becoming the entrepreneurs of tomorrow—with this strong jumpstart from FUTURES—and you! For more information about how to incorporate these worksheets into your lesson plans or family adventures in finance, clik here to download the entire FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™ today—with Ariel Education Initiative’s compliments!

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These Power Boosts provide just a glimpse of how the FUTURES program simplifies and deconstructs complicated, intricate Financial Literacy concepts to make them relevant and easier to understand for everyone.

Onward Toward Our FUTURES

We hope you enjoyed and benefited from this wave of 12 Financial Literacy posts to welcome 2020 in a financially literate and responsible way. For more information about FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™, this amazing (and FREE!) financial literacy program for students in kindergarten through eighth grade, or to download sections from the program, please click below. Should you find yourself looking to connect financial literacy concepts to everything from curriculum themes to family life lessons, you’ll continue to be able to download and use this program with our compliments—any time, any place—to help your kids grow and flourish into Financially Literate Kids who become part of a Financially Literate Society.

Entrepreneurs: Dreamers in and of Service

When a day is as special and as powerful as Martin Luther King Day, it deserves a blog post that is equally special and powerful. The formal name of this important day is actually Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Day of Service, and it is coming up on Monday, January 20th this year. Dr. King was dedicated to serving as a voice for others and fighting for what is right. While much time has passed since Dr. King gave his incredible “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., many of the same issues still continue today, telling us all that there is still more to do, more that we each must do—to make this world a better place.

Dream of Better, Make It Happen

Because one of the four strands of the FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™ is Entrepreneurship, and many entrepreneurial endeavors begin with dreams, this post focuses on how we can all help our dreams for a better world to become real.

Many entrepreneurs take great risks and commit to their endeavors with extreme passion in order to make a difference. One definition of an entrepreneur is someone who looks at things differently, challenges the status quo, and deeply believes that he or she can do it better or differently. This description defines much of what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. accomplished.

That’s why in this blog post, we take a different sort of look at both Dr. King’s creative vision as well as how the many successful entrepreneurs weave together their passions and their desire to be of service to others, helping to create bigger and better FUTURES for all. We hope you will become inspired to use your entrepreneurial talents, passion and compassion, and in some cases, physical strength to “be of service” to others. This post is filled with ideas.

A Quarter of a Century!

This Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service marks the 25th anniversary to celebrate this Civil Rights leader’s life and the long-lasting legacy that we have been fortunate enough to receive. According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, we all need to think of this day as “a day on, not a day off.” In fact, did you know that MLK Day is the only federal holiday that’s officially designated as a national day of service? The goal is to provide an opportunity, time, and encouragement to Americans to do what they can, offer their talents, and step up in order to improve their communities. Entrepreneurs can play key roles in these efforts—and not simply on this special day. Dr. King devoted his entire life to service; by focusing our attention on service for this one day, the hope is that these efforts will continue—everyday.

The Dream Speech We Almost Didn’t Hear!

This example shows that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was indeed, a risk-taker, a true entrepreneurial quality. It was on August 28, 1963 that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his famous “I Have A Dream” speech as part of the March on Washington. In the months leading up to this march, many important events took place, causing reactions and chain reactions filled with extreme mounting tensions. In June, President John F. Kennedy called for a drive for more civil rights on national television—on the very same night that NAACP leader Medgar Evers was murdered in Mississippi. This was the catalyst for the civil rights march.

The speech was delivered to approximately 250,000 people who came to Washington, D.C., from all across the country to march for civil rights. Dr. King’s speech was part of this incredible day, but did you know that we almost missed hearing this speech for two reasons?

First, a very expensive sound system was installed specifically to be sure attendees could hear the events at the Lincoln Memorial. Remember in 1963, technology was nothing like it is today. After the sound system was installed, according to many sources, the equipment was said to have been deliberately damaged just before the speeches began. Once this was discovered, Attorney General Robert Kennedy quickly enlisted the Army Corps of Engineers to work to fix the system.

It’s the Gospel Truth!

The second reason we almost didn’t hear this part of Dr. King’s prepared speech is because, according to those close to Dr. King, “I Have a Dream” actually wasn’t part of the speech he’d written and had planned to deliver at this march. Mahalia Jackson, the famous gospel singer and musical legend, had frequently accompanied Dr. King to events and rallies where she would perform. It’s been reported that when he felt most discouraged, Dr. King would even call Jackson on the phone just to hear her sing. It was because of Mahalia Jackson that Dr. King put aside his notes and began to speak of his dream that day. She was seated within earshot of Dr. King and as he read his speech, she spoke out loud, urging Dr. King, then and there, to “Tell them about the dream, Martin. Tell them about the dream.”

Those words started the transformation from the prepared notes Dr. King had written to the messages from his heart, the messages we still hold fast to today. The original written speech was given by Dr. King to George Raveling, a college basketball player from Villanova, who was there that day to serve as one of King’s bodyguards. It’s said that Raveling has kept the speech safely locked away all these years.

What Dreams Can You Act Upon?

As for the rest of us? We’ll need to be content to relive these words and moments by reading and listening to the speech. Click on the link from the National Archives to read the speech and click on the YouTube link below to hear an audio recording of Dr. King’s I Have a Dream speech:

• Full Speech from the National Archives

• Link to YouTube audio recording

As you listen to these compelling words, consider your dreams for a bigger, better FUTURE for those in your school, family, and community. Once you focus on your dream, start to put it into action—just one action can make a difference. What single action can you take, starting on Monday, to help those in your community? There are many organized events scheduled for this day and a quick search should give you lots to choose from near you.

Entrepreneurs in Service

When you join a group of volunteers in your community, you’re likely to discover that some of the people around you are getting things done and making things happen—more than others. Check out those people who are carrying the wood, hanging the signs, serving food, and setting up all the crowdsourcing donation accounts on computers. Chances are, they also happen to be entrepreneurs, eager to give back and apply their talents to the causes in their communities. What terrific role models for your kids to meet, too!

If there are no planned events near you, tap into your inner-entrepreneur, create your own, and invite others to join you. Chances are, there are others looking to be part of something, too. By inviting others, you’ll likely increase your mission’s chances for success.

Here are just a few ideas:

• Hold a bake sale with your kids.

• Volunteer to work at a soup kitchen.

• Help build or repair a home.

• Look in your neighborhood for ideas and ask around. You’re likely to discover many projects in need of starting.

Your Entrepreneurial FUTURE

As you focus on discovering and applying your own entrepreneurial energy on this upcoming day of service, think about how your family, students, and those around you can all benefit from acquiring a stronger awareness of the tenets of entrepreneurship and all four of the financial literacy strands of learning. All entrepreneurs benefit from knowledge.

From Personal Finance and Economics to Entrepreneurship and Investing, FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™ is the groundbreaking Financial Literacy Program that empowers students BEFORE High School—to achieve their best success AFTER High School. Ariel Education Initiative is founded upon the belief that Financial Literacy is a critical 21st-century skill and is vital to our kids, our society, and our future. That’s why AEI developed FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™ and that is also why this program is 100% free.

The goal of FUTURES is to provide a robust financial education program for kids and budding entrepreneurs and investors of all ages—in school and far beyond. Whether it be learning to invest in securities, such as stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, the fundamentals of becoming an entrepreneur or conducting a cost/benefit analysis, this program offers learners the chance to shape their own point of view that will empower them to make wise money choices—long into their futures.

The FUTURES program’s detailed Entrepreneurship strand covers much more than just Entrepreneurship; it covers a wealth of powerful future-focused leadership concepts for kids and adults. From business startup and financing, flow of money, public and private corporations, target markets and the always important social responsibility, readers are able to experience and visualize themselves as entrepreneurial leaders.

With the help of FUTURES easy-to-use worksheets and games, you’ll all unlock a richer grasp of what it takes to start and run a business. Many kids and adults discover their own entrepreneurial passions and are able to shape these glimmers of passions into future ideas. What ideas are inspiring you these days? What are YOUR big dreams?

In this strand of FUTURES, you will also explore the various parts of building and running a successful business, learn about how franchises work, discover the difference between investing in a startup business versus a franchise, and investing in a business and running that same business every single day (and night!). You will also learn about how to make financing decisions and become a more worthy candidate for credit.

Beyond the Program, Into the World

The FUTURES program simplifies and deconstructs complicated, intricate Financial Literacy concepts to make them relevant and easier to understand for students. With the full FUTURES program at your fingertips, you and your kids will better understand the complicated world of finance AND develop their own personal stake in it. Created by teachers for teachers, this proven educational program is FREE and readily available to districts, schools, teachers, coaches, counselors, and families, too!

As Dr. King would have no doubt supported, the FUTURES program encourages learners to develop and form their own point of view of finance and investing, while honing their critical thinking skills as they progress through the depth and breadth of the four FUTURES strands with their 29 stand-alone modular sections.

Further, real-time, real-world, relevant connections drive kids’ interest and create effective links between academic content and the business world. This unique multi-disciplinary approach elevates learning, allowing educators, school districts, and families and community centers to help prepare tomorrow’s leaders—today—so they can compete in and become strong leaders of our ever-changing global marketplace—in their futures.

As you consider how you will honor Dr. King’s memory and champion his legacy on this upcoming day of service, take some time to download any or all of the 29 sections or modules from FUTURES. The information within this program can help you and your children to begin to transform a single day of service into a lifetime of commitment to service.

Big Dreams? Wake up and Make Them Happen!

Do YOU Have a Dream?

As we approach this year’s celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King’s Birthday, your team from FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™ is focusing our next few blog posts on entrepreneurship. It’s our way to honor Dr. King’s belief in everyone’s ability to have—and strive to realize—a big dream. While even our biggest dreams cannot compare to those of Dr. King, the passion, commitment, and energy that entrepreneurs bring to their businesses is a powerful way to grow and deliver results that can make a big difference.

Many entrepreneurial accomplishments begin with a dream. While dreaming is the first step, there are many steps and mis-steps that must happen to transform a dream into an entrepreneurial reality. In today’s post, we’ll cover the fundamentals of entrepreneurship by exploring a tasty transaction. In Blog 11, we will showcase the amazing entrepreneurial content within the FUTURES program.

With the right amount of drive, tenacity, commitment, energy and of course, knowledge, there is no wrong age to become an entrepreneur. You’re never too young and you’re never too old. Whether you have kids of your own or have kids in your charge in your classroom, why not start exploring entrepreneurship with your children? Discovering what they know, believe, and want to learn can help you chart a bigger FUTURE course for your own learning, too.

Know Any Entrepreneurs?

Start by asking your kids or students if they know what an entrepreneur does. “Do you know any entrepreneurs? Have you ever been an entrepreneur?” If they answer “no,” suggest they think again. They might not realize that anyone who has ever had a babysitting gig, a paper route, a dog-walking job, or set up a corner lemonade stand has actually worked as an entrepreneur. Share examples of entrepreneurs in your neighborhood—the dry cleaner, the food truck owner, and even the tech lady who drives around in that little bright green car with the computer magnet on top.

Thirsty for Success?

Start with a simple and familiar example that’s also delicious. Take a closer look at what it takes—from logistics and planning to investments and profits—to create and run a successful lemonade stand. Ask the following questions:

• What happens at a lemonade stand?

• Is it transactional? Experiential? Both?

• Who are the different people who must participate in the lemonade stand?

• How do you get ready to open a lemonade stand? What do you need to accomplish?

Walk kids through these steps.

1. The entrepreneur finds the right location.

2. The entrepreneur buys lemons, sugar, and cups to make lemonade.

3. The entrepreneur makes lemonade.

4. The entrepreneur sells lemonade.

5. The entrepreneur buys more supplies to make lemonade.

6. The entrepreneur needs to promote the lemonade stand (with a sign, by shouting at passing cars, by creating 2-for-1 sales, and more)

7. The entrepreneur needs a table, some chairs, and other materials like a table cloth, cash box, and perhaps a roll of paper towels.

Produce It and Consume It!

Once kids grasp the concept that running a lemonade stand is like running a small business, build upon the lemonade stand model to introduce two economic concepts—producers and consumers. Explain that when an entrepreneur buys lemons, sugar, and other supplies to make lemonade, she or he is a consumer. When the entrepreneur makes and sells lemonade, he or she is a producer. Explain that the people who buy the lemonade are also consumers.

Ask kids to make a list of examples of times they’ve acted as a consumer and times they’ve acted as a producer. Can a person or business ever be both a producer and a consumer? You can ask these questions while you’re out and about or when kids “consume” paper and paint for their next class project. Make this set of questions a habit and before you know it, they’ll be asking you about these two powerful terms.

Let’s Make a Deal!

Now that you’ve explored how a lemonade stand works, ask children how they think they would decide what to charge for each cup of lemonade. Begin by prompting them to think about everything they need to “consume” or buy in order to make the lemonade. You should then ask how they think they should decide on pricing. Does their answer indicate that they’ll make a profit?

Pricing Process

1. Have kids look up the cost of all the ingredients online or by asking family members what they last paid for these items at the grocery store.

2. Remind them that lemons and sugar cost money, but they also will need many other things—materials for a sign, a table for the stand itself, a pitcher, cups, and ice.

3. Based on all these factors, ask kids to come up with a plan.

4. How many cups need to be sold to “cover” costs? If the price is too low, the stand isn’t profitable. If the price is too high, no one is going to become a customer.

5. Try to settle on what is a reasonable price to charge for a cup of lemonade at a lemonade stand.

6. Ask kids to think about how much THEY would pay for a cup of lemonade—with their own money? This is a great way to tap into the concept of fair market value.

7. Coach kids to consider how many cups they must sell to cover their costs. Invite them to estimate how long they think it will take to sell that many cups.

8. Remind your budding entrepreneurs that consumers have to want or need what they are selling much more than those consumers want or need the dollars in their pocket. Coach kids to think about why people buy lemonade on a hot summer day.

9. This may spark your entrepreneurial team to reconsider selling cold lemonade in January. What might happen if they switched from lemonade to steamy hot chocolate instead? While hot chocolate might appeal to more buyers on a cold winter day, what new challenges does this create? How will the hot chocolate stay warm? What about marshmallows? Can you charge more for those?

Lead kids through this process and let their ideas lead you through the “teachable moments” by creating more and more questions for them to answer. After all, asking and answering questions is a big part of becoming an entrepreneur.

Questions to Grow On

Ask practical questions like:

• How will you make change?

• Do you need money to begin your business?

• What’s the money for?

• How much money do you need?

• What could happen if you buy too many supplies? Are any supplies perishable?

• What could happen if you buy too few supplies?

• What will you do if you run out of lemonade?

• What is your plan for any leftover lemonade?

• Will you have a sale to “drink up” the excess? (Or is lemonade on the menu for dinner?)

• If you switch to selling hot chocolate, what additional costs might come up?

• Is there a location that lets you run your hot chocolate stand even when it is snowing?

• Can you inspire your kids to DREAM BIGGER and create one combined seasonal “beverage company” that sells iced lemonade in the summer, warm apple cider in the fall, hot chocolate in the winter, and flowers in the spring?

Safety First!

Hot drink of cocoa or cool glass of lemonade—who’s feeling thirsty now? If your kids want to plan a real lemonade or hot cocoa stand, remind them that safety always comes first. While it’s easy to set up an indoor stand in the wintertime, it’s a smart idea all year long. Lemonade stands and any other sort of child-centric entrepreneurial adventures should take place in a safe place such as a community center, as part of a school event, or at a block party or other neighborhood gathering, and with adults present. Stress that even budding entrepreneurs need permission and approval from adults first. If your kids are permitted to venture outside for their lemonade stand, an adult should always be close by even if it is in a place you know well. Besides, you can later share that first business with your grown child someday when a FUTURE, more grown-up business is launched.

Bigger Entrepreneurial FUTURES!

The FUTURES Program, FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™ helps entrepreneurs. Check it out! By considering the various factors in starting a business and the importance of goal setting at the beginning stages of the business—and every single day thereafter—readers will become more aware of the realities of entrepreneurial undertakings. True entrepreneurs won’t be discouraged—they’ll just get smarter about how to tackle each and every potential obstacle.

The Entrepreneurship strand helps kids and adults think clearly about and explore how they might want to run their own businesses one day— which might be tomorrow with our help! Many FUTURES users just might start their very own businesses—with this strong jumpstart from FUTURES—and from you!

Dreaming of lemonade? Hot chocolate? Baked goods? Eager to launch a store on Etsy or other marketplaces? By digging into this strand of FUTURES, your entrepreneurial future will be poised to take off!

High-Five Goals in 365 Slices!

Even just a few days into the new year, many people are already realizing that New Year’s resolutions are great in theory. Often made with the fresh determination that comes with the start of a new calendar year, it’s easy to resolve to BE and DO better in specific areas of life that matter. We often reflect on our big priorities and set lofty goals for our bigger FUTURES about which we plan to be resolute. Yet, after just months or weeks, and for some resolutions, even after only a few days, many people abandon many of these meaningful resolutions. The year is just a dozen days old and already some resolutions have been broken. Why?

RESOLUTIONS ARE BIG DEALS!

It’s not in the timing of the resolutions that often sets us up for resolution failure. Nor does it stem from the resolutions themselves. Most resolutions are quite worthy of achieving. Take a look at this list from various top resolutions lists and you’ll quickly notice, each of these top 12 resolutions are REALLY BIG.

1. Enjoy life to the fullest

2. Lose weight and get fit through a healthier lifestyle

3. Spend more time with family and friends

4. Save more money, spend less money

5. Pay down or get out of debt

6. Quit smoking, drinking, other bad habits

7. Learn something new and different

8. Travel to new and exciting places

9. Be less stressed

10. Volunteer

11. Get organized

12. Fall in love, meet their soul mate

Are any of these resolutions on your list? Resolutions by their very nature are big undertakings. As a result, resolutions can be tough to parse into simple actionable items. To be achieved, even big resolutions need to be integrated into whatever you need to get done next Thursday, as it were. Just how does your to-do list for the coming week incorporate a potential desire to enjoy life to the fullest while spending more time with family and friends, learning something new in an exotic new place where you can lose weight, pay down your debt, reduce your stress and volunteer, all while being totally organized? With resolutions of this scale, of course many of us will abandon ship. As these top 12 resolutions show, it’s easy to make grand resolutions. As our track records show, it’s just as easy to consistently fall extremely short of our lofty goals when it comes time to actually implement them.

Two Reasons Why Resolutions Erode

Two factors enter into resolution erosion. First, we tend to set ourselves up with too many different big resolutions at once. Often, people realize greater success by thinking of resolutions as one would think of adding ingredients into a cake batter, one at a time. When it comes to adding the biggest ingredient, the flour, the batter has fewer lumps when you fold in flour gradually. Tackle one resolution at a time, working to master one resolution before moving onto the next. Even if your resolutions are pint-sized compared to these MEGAlutions, trying to accomplish even smaller multiple resolutions at once can be too much for a lot of us.

The second reason resolutions erode so quickly is not about WHEN we decide to work on them. It’s also not about WHAT the resolutions themselves may be about; if it matters to you, it is a worthwhile resolution. The second reason resolutions erode is because of HOW we tackle them. Would you ever attempt to eat an entire pizza in one bite? Hardly. Big goals need to be parsed into smaller, doable steps. By slicing big resolutions into smaller pieces, many of us will do a better job of integrating big goals into day-to-day life. Even smaller slices need to be actionable. For example, if you want to live a healthier life in 2020, many smaller actionable steps need to be part of this resolution, from cleaning out your pantry to replacing your running shoes.

365 Slices Mean 365 Fresh Starts

Using an approach like 365 Slices can help. 365 Slices is where you consider each new day a clean slate. Even when the day’s actions are a total bust when compared to longer-term goals, to quote Scarlett O’Hara, “Tomorrow is another day.”

It’s even more helpful to reaching your goals when your every-day actions and choices that fill our to-do lists align directly to your big priorities, the resolutions that matter most. Connecting the dots between the resolution (WHAT) and its implementation (HOW) helps you to achieve more. When you take even one action each day that brings you closer to the resolution you’re focusing on, you make actionable progress.

Each day, work to include even just one action that aligns to one of your big priorities for the year. For example, getting to the school concert for your children, no matter what is going on at work that day is an example of connecting dots on a resolution of Family First. Think of each day as a sort of Etch-a-Sketch, with the chance to erase the day that’s done and begin with a clean slate the next day. Each day is a new opportunity to get closer to and make progress on your big goals.

One High-Five Example

Many people categorize their resolutions into categories like Self, Family, Money, Business, and Future (our very favorite around here at FUTURES, for obvious reasons). As a goal-setter you could choose to focus on two different goals for one category like Family or Business. Another goal-setter might have 3 big goals related to Money like get out of debt by April 15, save $3000 by December 31st, and Sell the car by June 1.

Do whatever will work best for you in terms of number of goals per category, but keep your big goals to no more than five—to ensure you don’t create too many. If you can tick off your goals on one hand, you’ll be more likely to achieve them.

To Do or Not To Do?

Each day, make yourself a to-do list. Much will be tied directly to daily activities, of course, but by being mindful of your five big resolutions, you might be able to slip in an extra walk, plan ahead to get to the school event early, or simply plan a free night to be open to whatever family situation might be happening.

Most of us typically have more on our to-do lists than is feasible to complete in one day. Comparing all of the items on your list to your High-Five categories can help you to make better choices. By taking the extra few seconds to connect the dots between your daily to-dos and your big resolutions, you will be able to prioritize more effectively. Put a check or circle every daily action that actually helps to get you closer to your big goals. If a task doesn’t align to any of your big goals and is not urgent or required by others, ask yourself if it is a good investment of your time. Should Stan really wash the car today or should he finally try to sell those three extra pieces of furniture on a website instead? Which choice would be more closely aligned to a big goal of getting his house ready to sell?

This method of carefully comparing your High-Five big goals to what you really do each day can help you to reflect back on your progress on a weekly basis. When you notice days slipping by without being able to check or circle a “connect-the-dots” action that links a daily action to a bigger resolution, it’s a wake-up call. Take a look at this example worksheet to become inspired to create your own. You can create your list electronically or as a hard copy. What matters is that you make a list and connect your actions to your priorities.

Investing in Your Goals

FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Future™, is brimming with helpful information about investments. If any of your High-Five big goals for the coming year are financially-driven, the information in this FREE program could be a great place to start. Check out topics like:

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Fundamentals of Investing

Stocks

Mutual Funds

Bonds

Purchasing Investments

Portfolio Management

As you jump back into your first weeks back at school after Winter Break, connect-the-dots between your big resolutions and your day-to-day activities and must-do tasks. And remember, each new day is a fresh start!

Be a Big 3 Goalie!

Happy 2020. How’s your 2020 vision? As we ring in a fresh new year and a whole new decade, in fact, it’s important to take a step back to assess and reflect upon your progress during the past year. Try this from a personal and financial perspective. To create a new plan for a new year, you must first assess where you are.

Personal Goals

Are you excited to be embarking on a brand, new year? How was your 2019?  Are you pleased with your results? To assess how you did in 2019, ask yourself a few of these questions.

• What events, choices, changes, and decisions went well in 2019?

• What were my very best choices in 2019?

• What events, choices, changes, and decisions did not meet my expectations in 2019?

• What goals did I achieve?

• Where did my results fall short? Can I recognize any patterns?

• What new habit helped me in ways I didn’t expect?

• Did I form any poor habits in 2019 that I’d like to change in 2020?

• In what ways did I spend, save, and earn money wisely?

• What was my greatest success and biggest disappointment of 2019?

These are great questions to ask yourself as you begin to think about your new set of best practices for this new year. Who knows? You might even dream up some great new habits that will take you through this entire decade! First, though, you need to be clear about past your results and performance, understand new and current circumstances, and be ready and excited to take control of your FUTURE. Once you understand the past, are clear about your present, and positive about moving forward, it’s time to set your 3 Big Goals for 2020. JUST THREE.

Top Three Categories for Big Personal Goals

The top personal goals people set at the start of a new year typically fall into three big categories. We suggest that you begin your 2020 plan by creating and committing to one big goal in each category, hence our suggestion to create 3 big goals.

The first category is SELF. This includes goals around health, sleep, losing weight, getting more exercise, quitting a bad habit, and learning something new or reading more. These resolutions are often the most popular in January and are often become invisible shortly thereafter. Old habits are hard to break and new habits are equally hard to form. 

The second category is goals around FAMILY. These goals center around spending more time with family and friends, aligning your priorities to your time choices, more travel, cooking meals together, and living life to the fullest. These goals are usually longer term and as a result get a lot of discussion and not much action. It’s easy for life to eclipse goals in this category unless and until you make these goals into routines and everyone commits to them. How many books did you mean to read in 2019?

The third category is all about MONEY, saving money, saving up for special events or activities, investing wisely, being more organized and accurate in investments, paying more attention to personal finances and of course, setting and sticking to a monthly budget. Goals in this category are often the most concrete and of course the easiest to see. If you’re not organized, you could miss a lot of savings. Conversely, if you do become more organized,  you might discover a discount plan you’d have missed.

Goals Stand Alone and Work Together

As you set your big goals for 2020, thing about how all three of your goals will work together.

While each of these categories is separate, a goal in any of these three categories, self, family, and finances, falls into all three life categories. For example, career and job changes are often motivated by self (perhaps you’re not happy in your present job), family (perhaps you want to change jobs to have a shorter commute and get home to your family earlier each day) and finances (perhaps you want to earn more money). The financial benefits of changing jobs is often a motivator that helps both self and family; you might be able to travel more, you might be challenged in new ways, or taking a new job might help to reduce your debt. Each of these results will have an impact on you, your family, and your financial situation. As you can see from this scenario, your big goals will often overlap and benefit the various aspects of your life. As you craft your 2020 goals, consider how your three separate goals, one for self, another for family, and finally, a big financial goal will both stand alone and work together to help you have a wonderful and productive 2020.

Financial Goal Setting

As January unfolds, your 2019 end-of-year spending actions, personal financial reflections, and tax preparation activities can serve as helpful reminders of the value of setting smart financial goals for the new year.  Of course, as the incoming bills from holiday shopping make their way to your inbox and mailbox, they can provide a different sort of reality check and evidence that you want to approach 2020 with different and better financial goals.

While your 2019 financial performance is still fresh in your mind, now is an excellent time to plan to take a few crucial first-steps to help make 2020 an even better year. Because FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™ focuses on Personal Finance, Economics, Entrepreneurship, and of course, Investing, it is a terrific (and FREE!) resource to keep at your fingertips as you begin to map out your 2020 financial plan. To help you get started, the FUTURES team has posed some questions and conducted some research to help you get started. Just download the program, today!

Look Back to Look Ahead

As you start to plan, use a rear-view mirror and look at the concrete results of your 2019 financial choices. Ask yourself:

• Did I create a 2019 budget?

• If so, did I stick to it all year?

• If not, how long was I able to maintain this smart habit?

• Did I pay your bills on time?

• Did I worry a lot about money?

• Was I able to save any money in 2019?

• Was I able to save the amount you had planned to save?

• Did I invest your money wisely?

• How did my investments and other financial decisions turn out?

• What kinds of financial choices didn’t work?

• How could my 2019 results help me to create even better and smarter financial goals for 2020?

• Can I identify any financial habits I’d like to change?

Biggest Financial Priorities

To assess and design the right financial goals for you and your family, you must first define your biggest financial priorities for the year and clearly assess the financial demands of these priorities.

• Do you want to save up for one big purchase like a car?

• Are any of your children getting close to starting college?

• Are you hoping to be able to save up enough to send your kids to a local camp this summer?

• Are you planning a big change like moving at any point in this year?

• Are you in school and planning to graduate during this year?

• What about your job or work? What changes might be coming on that horizon?

By answering these big change questions, you can begin to identify your biggest financial priorities for 2020. Beyond these situational financial priorities, you’ll also have ongoing financial priorities. The rent needs to get paid on time, medical bills come in, surprises happen, and so forth. Many people are facing similar financial challenges. Here are some of the top financial goals that people are setting for 2020:

• Save more money.

• Get out of debt.

• Create an emergency find for surprises.

• Improve credit scores.

• Earn more money.

• Get smarter about finances to make better decisions.

• Use technology more to save time and be more thorough.

• Build a budget and stick to it.

• Be more disciplined with spending.

SMART Goals Work!

Each of these goals is actually not even a goal! In fact, as these goals are described here by people, they are really just hopeful wishes. To be an achievable goal, a goal must be SMART, Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Timely. To create a goal from “save more money” that meets the five parameters of a real goal, you must define it.

Falling Short is Better Than Nothing

Goals are best achieved one step at a time. It can be tough to hit all your big goals for a year, even when your goals are smart and you break them down into achievable segments and mini-goals. Some might say it’s nearly impossible. As a result of this all or nothing thinking, some people opt not to even try setting goals.

Falling short of a goal is not a good reason to avoid setting goals. What might happen if in the example above, you fell short of saving $3600 and only achieved 80% of your goal? Why, you would still have saved $3000! So, falling short shouldn’t stop you from setting goals. So long as you learn and correct your course along the way, you’re likely to make progress.

Goal setting in 2020 can help you shape a framework for what you want to experience and achieve in 2020. Big goals can help you envision your bigger FUTURE! By setting just three big goals and working incrementally to reach them, big goals can make a positive difference and help you to understand the full scope of work and commitment needed to create your bigger FUTURE. Remember to adjust and set new interim mini-goals that may be more realistic. Big goals for the year are important metrics and guides as you move from month to month.

Not all big goals will require a full year to accomplish. Some big goals may be short-term and achievable in just a couple months. Other big goals, like saving money to put your fourth grader through college, will likely take years to accomplish. It’s important to not become discouraged if you’re not quite meeting your big goals right away. Take a step back, reassess, and then try a new approach. It takes time, energy, smart habits, commitment, and tenacity to meet big goals. By choosing the 3 big goals that are right for you, you’ll be on your way to shaping a brighter, bigger FUTURE for your family, your class, and yourself.

Whatever your big goals may be for 2020, you’ll benefit from understanding more about Personal Finance, Economics, Entrepreneurship, and Investing so begin by investing a bit of time to discover what you can learn from FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™. The price is free and the learning is priceless!

Join us in a few days for our next blog post called 365 Slices that focuses on how to align your biggest life priorities to the littlest actions you take every single day. Until then, Become a Big 3 Goalie!