Today we have a guest post from Katasha at Broke Girl Rehab. Katasha is paying off $57,847 in debt like a baller. She uses videos and photos to inspire her to keep going. Today she’s bringing some of that inspiration to you!
At the beginning of every year, people around the world create vision boards full of pictures expressing their hopes, dreams, and New Year’s Resolutions. The idea is that – thanks to The Secret’s Rhonda Byrne – when you reflect on these images every day, you invite the same experiences and material things into your life through the law of attraction.
Now, as someone who struggles with maintaining focus, I’ve found that vision boards can also be an effective tool for training my mind to remain focused on long-term goals. And, vision movies – which, in my opinion, are far more effective than vision boards – can be a great way to stay on top of achieving your goals when it comes to personal finances.
The idea behind vision movies is actually pretty simple – like vision boards, you’re still gathering images of your hopes and dreams, but instead of posting a bunch of feel-good pictures at random, all of your images are grouped into themes that reflect your goals with respect to money.
Have no idea of what I’m talking about? No worries, I’ve posted an example below so you can better understand. YouTube user jenelli47, created this video to help her focus on finding her perfect mate:
So, what do you think? Sure, it might seem a little kumbaya at first, but – as someone who’s always jumping from one thing to the next – vision movies can be really helpful for staying on track and remembering the overall big picture. (And, since I’m having a hard time staying excited about sticking to a budget, I knew I had to bring out the big guns.)
Here’s a few things to keep in mind when making your own movie:
Goals & Affirmations:
These statements will be the most important part of your vision movie. Remember, you don’t want to just remind yourself of your money goals, you actually want to get excited. One helpful trick is to state your goals in the present (or past) tense as if they’re already happening. Here are some examples of what I mean:
I will save $10,000 by the end of this year. Because of my frugal lifestyle, I am on track to save $10,000 by the end of this year.
I will pay off $9,000 of debt. In 2016, I paid off $9,000 of debt – woo hoo!
I will learn more about investing and building wealth. It feels good to learn more about investing, and each day I feel more confident about building wealth.
P.S. Don’t worry about if these statements are “true” or not. We’re faking it until we make it!
Pictures:
Your pictures can be literal interpretations of your personal finance goals, but I think it’s far better to choose photos that reflect the final outcomes. Ask yourself – what will it feel like after I pay off my debt? What will I do once I begin to earn more money? How will my life be different once I become financially independent? Let your creativity shine, and choose the photos that best match your answers.
Music:
Ideally, you’ll want to watch your vision movie often and over a long period of time, so try to choose a theme song that is up-beat, motivational and won’t go out of fashion soon. I like to use oldies (“Move on Up” by Curtis Mayfield is a favorite) or electronica, since there aren’t any lyrics to interfere with my affirmations.
And, that’s it! Hopefully I haven’t freaked you out with my new-agey techniques, and perhaps I’ve even inspired you to make a vision movie of your own. Remember, vision movies are a tool to help you stay focused on achieving your personal finance goals – at the end of the day, you still have to do the work!
Until next time, I’m uploading my personal finance movie to my phone for some daily morning inspiration. See ya later, folks!
More Stuff to Get Fired Up:
“Move on Up” by Curtis Mayfield
Business Insider – Here’s the Trick Olympic Athletes Use to Achieve Their Goals
The Law of Attraction (please read this with a heavy grain of salt)
Kara Perez is the original founder of From Frugal To Free. She is a money expert, speaker and founder of Bravely Go, a feminist financial education company. Her work has been featured on NPR, Business Insider, Forbes, and Elite Daily.