Are you a perfectionist? Do you think … just a little more polishing and you’ll be ready to launch that two-year-old project you’ve revised, reworked and re-engineered to death?

Old School

Are you so old school that you were taught “if it is worth doing, it’s worth doing perfectly?” Well, let me share a truth with you. They were wrong. Your teachers, bosses, parents … all the people who pushed for perfection at the price of completion were off-base and out of step with this time.

I used to be a perfectionist. I made sure there were no critical omissions in my completed documents. The problem is that I didn’t publish as many articles as I might have if perfect wasn’t part of the goal. Actually, perfect was not my personal goal. It was the required operating procedure standing in the way of project completion.

Perfectionism was a girdle in the old-school world. It was tight, restrictive and painful. There was nothing fun about wearing the girdles I wore as a young woman. Why didn’t I question the need to adhere to such a rigid rule then?

I am not endorsing sloppy work. I don’t advocate half-ass effort. I am recommending that you allow yourself the creative freedom of knowing that good enough is good enough.

Life is your personal laboratory. It is yours to explore, experiment, and decide what’s most important to you. It is your place to dream, test ideas, and implement plans. To accomplish more in your life, think of life as a beta.

Do the best you can as quickly as possible, then launch the program, project, or venture. Revise and perfect it later. Think beta –the first iteration. The Microsoft method. Decide how to monetize the initial effort and price future updates. Get it done.

Launch Beta 1. Get Feedback. Revise. Improve. Price. Launch Beta 2 to a market of early adopters waiting expectantly, and to the later-adopters who have been waiting for Beta 2. What a great operating model. Rinse. Repeat. Replay.

Go launch your new product.

Peace and prosperity,

P.S. Get the best money tips, personal finance news and expert interviews. Sign up to the new Financial Fitness eZine.

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© 2010 Judith Stephens. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Get Rich Slowly is one of my favorite personal finance blogs. I like the way JD Roth (the admin) thinks and analyzes his financial behavior. I also like how he writes about money and finance. It takes considerable writing skill to make personal finance articles interesting and keep your audience entertained enough to read it. JD does a very good job.

As we prepare for the money management portion of the Money Attraction Bootcamp, I’ve asked my group to read this blog post. Discretionary spending bits and pieces. I’ve encouraged them to get their feet wet, and assured them that the water isn’t cold. We’ll discuss opinions and views in the Financial Fitness Academy’s new membership forum. Bootcamp members never disappoint. It should be great fun.

See how JD analyzes his 2009 restaurant spending. This is a good model of how to analyze and control your financial behavior too. See how he proactively asks IF this is the way he wants to spend his money? Look at the techniques he uses not to spend impulsively. See how he rewards himself for sticking to his spending plans. There is a lot of substance in this blog entry.

I hope you find Get Rich Slowly as interesting and informative as I do.

Judith
The Money Lady

PS  If you haven’t already done so, subscribe to my new Financial Fitness eZine. Simply click and enter your name and email in the form. Thanks!

What’s your plan for 2010? Do you have a plan for growing your business? What about a plan to grow your life?

When I worked in corporate America, we started the annual planning process for the new year in September or October. Planning involved every layer of the corporation. We forecasted sales by product line, and included evaluating all aspects of the business — staff size, operating expenses and projected profits. Planning forces you to think specifically about your business’ future.

What’s your plan?

As we end 2009, take the next few weeks to think through your strategy for 2010. Start by thinking about what you want.

If you want to increase your 2010 income by 15% over 2009, what do you need to do to achieve it? Will you sell more of your products/services at the same prices? Will you raise your prices? Will you Introduce new products at higher price points, or decrease your overhead by reducing the number of employees on your payroll? Will you outsource more administrative tasks?

Here’s the benefit: The planning process strengthens you and your business. It provide you with a mental agility that only comes from thinking through your options.

Would you like to learn more about developing your 2010 business/life plan? Join me at my free Money Attraction Secrets! Discover How to Use Spiritual & Business Tools to Attract & Manage Your Money teleseminar on Tuesday, December 8, 2009. Register today at http://themoneyladyteleseminars.com

Inviting more money into your life isn’t woo woo. Money attraction is about incorporating proven spiritual principles and sound business practices into your planning process.

To Your Financial Success!

Judith

Smart money management skills are part of the learn-about-money-so-you-can-protect-your-own-ass(ets) action plan. Learning the mechanics of money management is important. Why? Because you need to increase your money awareness, get clear on your personal finances, and stop the game of financial dishonesty that so many people play.

Smart money management skills provide us with clarity. You know your monthly income and outgo. You know the amount of money you have in the forms of cash expected, account receivables (money others owe you), savings and investments. You know what you owe in terms of bills, debts and long-term obligations.

An accurate cash flow analysis tells you when to expect cash to flow in and out of your business. A spending plan helps you see and be clear about your spending intentions, thereby affording you more control over your money. When you have a spending plan you’re less likely to do impulse buying. These are the analytical components of managing your money. Find and use the right tools, and perform ongoing analysis to stay on top of your unique money situation. Make it a routine. By doing so you gain the discipline and confidence that comes from knowing exactly where you stand.

Tools to Use

Set up systems that work for you. Some tools to consider are Mint.com for maintaining bank accounts. Use Quicken or Quickbooks for your personal and/or business accounting. Consistently use and maintain the tools you decide are best for your needs. It’s about paying your bills before the due date; regularly balancing your bank accounts; auditing your bills monthly; automatically adding to your personal savings, and paying down or paying off your credit cards.

Money management is taking the reins of your financial life by pulling up your big-girl/guy pants and taking command. It’s about establishing your own no-BS financial reality. It’s knowing that the truth is way better than living in the cobweb of illusion and lies created by not knowing your own bottom line.

Word

Money is a language you must learn to speak well. Get fluent. Read personal finance blogs. Contribute to the collective dialog. We have been silent about money too long. Look at how that has allowed our country to be defrauded of billions of dollars because we didn’t ask questions; thought money was too difficult to understand; or believed that the money makers “cared” about you and would do the right thing. Wrong.

It’s time to clear out money fog. Let’s breathe in fresh air and rid our heads of cobwebs. Get into the flow of money. Raise your awareness by reading more money articles, personal finance books, this and other money-related blogs.

Homework!

Experience online banking. Open an online savings account. I like ING Direct, but there are others that might appeal to you more. Share with us your online banking experiences.

Read Suze Orman’s 2009 Action Plan. This book is about Keeping Your Money Safe & Sound.

As always, your comments are welcome. Become part of this community by sharing your opinions here. Click on comments and tell me what you think. I use the Comment Luv plugin which means your URL is visible after you comment. My readers can then read and comment on your site too.

Happy March 2009!

Judith

Like many people, I have issues around money. I call them money baggage — those limiting thoughts, beliefs and emotions around my finances. What about you? What feelings do you associate with money? Do thoughts of money make you feel anxious, angry, unworthy or confident and relaxed ? What’s your money self-talk like? Do you think about abundance and achievement or lack and limitation?

I decided to clear out my baggage and increase the abundance in my life. I needed support to build a new financial fitness routine. I know about the Laws of Attraction, the importance of affirmations and declarations, and the benefits of positive thinking. I wanted an improved relationship with money. I needed personal development tools and exercises to clear my resistance and anchor my wealth building intentions. I sought to rewire my emotional circuitry, to take myself off automatic pilot and kick my energy up a notch or two.

No More Stinkin’ Thinking

My goal was to get past the money junk that had accumulated in my life. I didn’t want to analyze it. I wanted to clear it out, along with any stinkin’ thinking that had seeped into my consciousness to rob me of health, happiness and personal power. My goal was to attract more good in my life. More good people and great experiences.

I spent January 2009 letting go of emotions I no longer want. And adopting new financial attitudes and behaviors that would serve me well as I reach new levels of financial comfort. It was a highly spiritual quest, and I was aptly aided by superstars in the prosperity arena.

According to Joan Sotkin of Pro$perityPlace.com, “financial issues are always related to non-financial emotional issues …” Joan reminded me that prosperity comes through other people. I heard her and ended my self-imposed isolation. I’ve made new friends and associates, and reconnected with a few great old friends. I’ve entered into joint ventures with two awesome groups whose energy and expertise complement my own in amazing ways.

Tap Into EFT

I began tapping to clear my fears of the big steps I’m taking. Tapping? Yes. EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) are tools to help remove emotional blocks that prevent you from achieving your goals. EFT is a needle-free form of acupuncture. By tapping on certain meridian points while concentrating on the emotional disturbance, energy begins to flow and relief results. EFT is easy to learn, and does not require special education or extensive training. It can be used effectively in almost every emotional, health and performance issue. Pioneered by Gary Craig, EFT‘s benefits are huge. It works. Many people are tapping and talking glowingly about it.

Paul Zelizer, a new Twitter and Facebook friend, is a genius at bringing people together. Paul says “EFT is among the best clearing tools available today.” Get Paul’s free ebook, PZ’s Money Makeover2. It explains how to use EFT for financial well-being.

I’m refreshed and vibrating at a higher energy level. I’m ready to implement my new 2009 action plans. I’m feeling more hopeful and much less stressed. I tap frequently and journal my feelings.

What about you? Have you heard of EFT? Have you tried it yet? What were your experiences? Share your thoughts about it here. More tools and exercises coming soon.

Judith

Image by bradipo via Flickr

You can learn more about personal finance, investing, budgeting, and spending consciously by reading personal finance blogs online. It’s been an enjoyable way to brush up on topics I am familiar with, and an easy way to  learn new subjects I hadn’t considered.

I started reading personal finance blogs after I started writing this blog. The personal finance niche appears to be a low-key group of bloggers. But any niche compared to the Internet Marketing niche, with which I’m more familiar, is low key. The personal finance niche doesn’t seem to promote themselves as broadly. At any rate, I wasn’t reading these blogs. Big mistake! I should have.

Now I subscribe by email to these blogs. I subscribe to the email feeder so the posts don’t get lost in the clutter of my RSS reader.

Click, read, learn more and enjoy the process. You’ll be amazed at how much more you understand about money, and how quickly you’ll become very knowledgeable. You might as well become your own expert money adviser.

Tough Money Love

It’s too bad no one had earlier explained to the Jones that “living within your means” is a function of income and outgo, not asset appreciation and outgo.  It’s also too bad that financial writers in the Times and other media outlets didn’t jump on this issue two or more years ago, when the real estate bubble was still growing instead of blowing up.

I Will Teach You To Be Rich

Today’s tip is to never pay retail prices for clothes again using some sites you’ve heard of, and a bunch of sites I bet you haven’t.

My Money Blog

Dilbert’s One-Page Guide to Everything Financial

Get Rich Slowly

But what happens when you add children to the mix? How do you plan for them and for yourself at the same time?

Taxes Made Simple

Filling out a W-9 is pretty easy. On the first line, simply enter your legal name (if a sole proprietorship) or the legal name of your business (if an LLC, corporation, or partnership).

I’m impressed with the quality of the content shared by the wise people who write these personal finance blogs. I believe you will be too. Let me know what you found most informative. Your comments are welcome and appreciated.

My favorite finance-related blogs are coming soon. Share your favorites too. Thank you!

Warmly,

Judith