Tag: goals

4 Timeless Money Goal Tips


It’s July, which means it’s about time to do a mid-year check-in (WHERE DID HALF THE YEAR GO?!). Personally as I do my check-in, I’m keeping in mind that a lot has changed since January. Between political uncertainties and battling the pandemic, my 2020 goals look like they were written in an alternate timeline and require significant adjustments, if not overhauling, and that’s ok. The goals still did their job as a directional force, which was especially helpful in incredible times of uncertainty.

Now if you need some help readjusting your goals, here are 4 timeless tips I picked up from my conversation with Suraya Zainudin (Ringgit Oh Ringgit) and Aaron Tang (Mr. Stingy) at the start of the year about goals.

  • Break the goal down instead of having one big ambiguous goal like ‘save more money’. Try something like ‘I will save 10% of my income every month’. That will clarify the goal, and with that help you achieve it.
  • Build systems to help you achieve your goals. An example here related to the above-stated goal would be to automate your 10% savings, which is a feature available on most banking platforms. Set it up so that every month 10% of your income goes into another account so that you can’t “accidentally” use it up.
    • Pro Tip: Personally I’ve set it up so that the money leaves my account a few days after my salary comes in, to be specific the 1st of the month. This way I start the month knowing that I’ve put money towards my different goals and commitments.
    • Pro Pro Tip: Consider increasing your EPF contribution – that way you’ll tap into the power of compounding interest and you won’t be able to touch the money till you’re 55.
    • Super Pro Tip: Think about trying a digital investment platform, like Stashaway. This will also tap into the power of compounding interest but with more flexibility.
  • Review your goals. Take Mr. Stingy for example, he sets aside (a SMART goal approved) half a day every month to do a money review and keep aware of his finances. Don’t try and be a hero and say you’ll do it everyday, be realistic. I feel that it’s better to start small and grow, than to start big and stop soon.
  • Mistakes will happen. You’re not perfect, remember that it’s ok to make mistakes or even fail, as long as your making progress and taking the right steps. Example: Suraya had some pretty moonshot goals, (like earning RM100,000 in 6 months!), and although she knows she might not achieve them the process of trying to get them done will move her forward!

I hope that these were helpful and I’d love to hear your own thoughts, tips, and strategies for goal setting! Let me know in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter!

Now if you’ve got 20 minutes and want to hear more from Suraya and Aaron, check out the full episode on BFM, Spotify, Apple Podcasts or whenever you listen to podcasts. The episode is titled: Money Goal Tips With Mr. Stingy And ‘Ringgit Oh Ringgit’

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2SUlUymxsLmoJyat2ZzNEN?si=l-kekY7bQ66C-Fm7xkrgdA

Notes on Q1 & Q2, Goals & Guidelines


Good Afternoon readers,

It’s feeling like quite the zoned out and blur day for me today, quite tired and all that jazz. Head’s feeling really fogged up. Hoping that my Costa Rica Tarrazu at Coffea will help clear things up 🙂 i’m having black coffee today, which is a first, and i have to say, it’s pretty good actually.

Anyway, it’s now the 4th of April, which means that we’re 4 days into the 2nd quarter of 2013.
It’s time to look back over the last 3 months and see how things stand.

Over the last 3 months i’ve done quite a bit of travelling (Macau, Kuala Terengganu, Penang, Perth), watched SHM, had quite an awesome Birthday week, got back to classes and made better friends at Monash, read quite a bit (Clash of Kings, Storm of Swords), got back to writing, started journaling again, got the ball rolling on waking up early & exercise and of course dealing with Round 1 2013.

Essentially it’s been a quarter of small daily improvements, a quarter of repairing the foundation and of moving forward and learning. I’m fairing much better with Round 1 2013 as compared to Round 1 2012, which is good. I’ve gained a better understanding of Fibromyalgia and am making a point to spread that awareness. So that other people understand and so that i don’t forget.

As for goals, i can say that i’ve missed quite. I made my goals not accounting for setbacks and well, life in general haha.

But that doesn’t mean i’m not going to set goals for Q2, however this time i’ll take what i’ve learnt from Q1 and use that to calibrate Q2 goals; Health, Academic, Personal Development, Social & Finances.

Q2 Goals & Guidelines include:
1) a book a week
2) 3 posts a week
3) wake up at 6am 4 times a week
4) morning exercise 5 times a week
5) Study lecture content before hand.
6) not going out after 7pm & sleep by 10pm – Sunday to Wednesday.
7) 1 vegetarian meal a day
8) journal during Holy Hour (which means daily)
9) 2 road trips
10) Cut monthly expenses (includes: transport, food, coffee, phone bills, etc) to 700.

Going to work on the Q2 Goals & Guidelines a little more, but the 10 above are the core elements.

Have you thoughts about how your last quarter has gone? Have you thought about how you want the next quarter to go?

Get cracking on your goals.

Start small and simple and build on that. Set some goals for the week and simple daily goals that will help you achieve the weekly goals. Always break things down into smaller manageable steps.

They all feed into each other.

Daily Goals build up to Weekly goals that build up to Monthly goals -> Quarterly goals -> Yearly goals -> 5 years -> 10 years

With goals and guidelines you build an awareness on what’s important, and that will be the difference.

By getting clear on what you want out of life, you heighten your awareness around what’s most important. With better awareness comes better choices. And with better choices you’ll see better results. Clarity breeds success.
Robin Sharma

I leave you with that to think about,

Straight From The Heart

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What You Achieve is as Important as Who You Become @CoffeaCoffeeMY


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Good Morning guys,

it’s been a pretty good morning for me so far, got up bright and early (and by bright i mean that my fibro wasn’t much of a problem, fog was like 3/10, stiffness was 4/10, pain 2/10) and got on to my journaling during my Holy Hour followed by a very good jog. That was a little an hour ago.

Now I’m at my Current Fav Coffee Spot, Coffea Coffee accompanied by a fine looking , and tasting, Maestro Flat White, though i’ve now decided that i’m more in favour of the Madonna.

So today,

I’m going to take a look at the Henry David Thoreau quote that i came upon last week:

“What you get by achieving your goals is as important as what you become by achieving your goals.”

The minute i saw this quote i knew i had to write something about it. It’s something that so many of us (myself as well) forget to think about. Now we’ve all got goals and dreams, whether you know it or not.

Some work hard to chase them,
Some work smart,
Some work tirelessly,
Some work in spurts,
And most of us use many of the various combination that can be formed

then there are those who

Pray but don’t believe
Wish but don’t act
Dream but don’t plan

Which I am going to call the Wishful Thinker, not to be confused with The Optimist or The Dreamer. A Wishful Thinker is someone who wants things to happen, dream to come true without lifting a finger.

Now to the point at hand,

The many of us goal chasers will encounter challenges, defeat and pain along the way to the finish line, now something else to keep i mind as you fight to Make It (achieve your goals, get what you wanted, reach the finish line) is who you are changing along the way, are you being Built Up, in which you get rid of the Unwanted Fat (character traits or elements in your life that aren’t exactly good, positive, productive, encouraging etc) or are you being Taken Apart (in which you find that you are losing the best parts of what makes You). It is so important to keep an eye on this, it’s all good if you’re being Built Up, that’s the best way to Keep Moving Forward, but if you find that you’re being Taken Apart, well then something needs to be done.

Do you really want to Make It but then be:
somebody that you’re friends don’t know?
or worse,
someone that you’re inner circle does’t recognise?
or worst of all,
someone that doesn’t know you they’re looking in the mirror?

To have lost the person that made those very goals in the war you fought to get here?

Achievement and Success is all great but it’s who you are that’s most important,
not what you are,
not where you are,
not how much money you have,
nor the car you drive,
how big your house is,
or
how hot your spouse is.

The ultimate goal in life is to be Happy, Pay it Forward & Live –

in a way that is in line with who you are and not try to fit in to what is deemed “normal”. Not only does normal not really exist, it’s contradicting the very nature of Us, we are all different so stop trying to be like everyone else.

Embrace who you are and work from there, don’t lose the parts that make you You. Make sure that when you Make It, You are more than You were, not less.

Ensure that as you Live and move towards your goals, you’re being Built Up and not Taken Apart. It’s not as easy as it sounds but it’ll be worth it.

Hope i got my point across,

if you liked my post and/or writing please let me know by any or all of the following:

commenting below

rating it (the scale is at the top of the post)

sharing it with your friends on Facebook

sharing it with your followers on Twitter.

I’d appreciate any and all of it.
Thank you in advance!

Straight From The Heart

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Goals & Resolutions @artisanroastkl


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Good Afternoon people,

The end of the first week of 2013 is upon us, then there will be another 51 left before we celebrate (or not) the end of this year and the start of another. For most the first week is important in setting leading tone for the year, through the birth of resolutions & goals, of new habits and practices. A great as it is to formulate such things, I feel that it is most important that the resolutions & goals reflect evolution, not revolution, that they aim for refinement and improvement of the successes, and/or otherwise, of 2012. There is nothing wrong with ambitious resolutions but for wishful thinking and lack of planning. Be ambitious with your resolutions, but ensure that the resolution is broken done into simpler goals, defined, specific & timed, that lead towards the resolution.
Do not confuse wishful thinking for being ambitious, they are not the same. Wishful thinking is ambitious thinking and dreams without untying in the effort, thinking that your resolutions will fall into your lap without planning or paying the price.

I’ve spent a good part of my Holy Hours over the last week on setting the tone for my 2013 through the setting of my fitness, financial, fun, material & personal development goals for the year and breaking them down into monthly and even weekly goals & guidelines to help clarify my routes and paths. I haven’t finished my 2013 Guideline, but I do have a draft to get the year cracking with.

The break down is incredibly important, if not the most important, part of forming resolutions. It ties in with helping us be consistent in the pace of our path to success, which in turn builds momentum. I look back over the last year, actually the last 9 months, and see that it was during the times of consistency that were my best, with respect to writing, exercise, personal development and social. Yes the consistency didn’t last forever but the goal there is to pick up from where you feel of the bicycle and get back to keep moving again, it will be difficult due to the loss of momentum and most will wan tot give up, but the people who succeed are the ones who pick themselves up and make the next wave of consistency last longer than the previous one. From 2 weeks and then falling off the rails to 4 weeks, then 6 weeks and so on. It will require lots of Discipline and if you keep the cycle going on, then maybe, someday, one day, there will come a point where you won’t have a Consistency Downtime. Maybe.

But the important thing to remember in chasing resolutions and goals, this year and every year, is that

1. small daily improvements will lead to stunning results. Break down your resolutions in to simpler, seemingly easier yet forward moving goals. As Henry Ford said,

“Nothing is particularly if you divide it into small jobs.”

2. Hone your discipline to build momentum and strengthen your will power and consistency.

3. Don’t give up, never give up. Pick yourself up, look at what you achieved before you fell, learn from your mistakes, then get back up and work on improving that. Keep Moving Forward

“Wisdom comes from experience. Experience is often a result of lack of wisdom.” – Terry Pratchett”

And here ends my second post for the year, and another step to getting back on track, another step to my goals, another step forward.

Cheers & Keep Moving Forward.

Straight From The Heart