See that spikey thing sticking out of the receipts in the picture? That’s a spindle. (Of do not bend, fold, spindle or mutilate fame.) On Amazon it’s called a Restaurant Check Spindle, but way back when, people used to use those things to keep receipts from getting lost on their desks.

And that’s exactly what I’m using mine for.

You see, I finally came to the conclusion that I am probably never going to input all of my receipts into Quicken every day. I’ve intended to do so for ages, but realistically what happens is that receipts cover my desk like snow and I get to them a couple of times a month.

Buying and using a spindle is going to accomplish three things for me:

1. My desk will no longer be blanketed in receipts for the majority of the month
2. I will no longer feel that “ugh, I really should input these receipts” feeling every day
3. My energy will be freed up for things that matter a whole lot more

Because some goals are not worth having.

In a perfect world it might be nice if my receipts were always input (and in that world I would also have an assistant to do it perfectly for me). But in my CURRENT world, I have better things to do with my time. Like spending time with my family and getting enough sleep, for starters.

The world will not end because I’ve cried uncle and given up on a minor goal. Not every battle is worth fighting, especially one that has resulted in no ill effects so far. I don’t overdraw my account, and I’m not surprised by my bills.

So, here’s to my new spindle and to having better things to do!

It can be tempting to decide on something that you’d like to do, and then do….nothing…for way too long without even realizing it.

In part, that’s understandable. Things happen. We get busy. We think that we’ll have more time later just as soon as ______ is done. We figure we’ll get around to it someday.

But often the reality is that time just passes us by, without us having made much (or any) progress.

When you set a goal and really go for it with all you’ve got, you get somewhere.

Now you may or may not succeed in the conventional sense, but your chances are a whole lot better than if you just halfheartedly try. Even if you aren’t successful at the very first thing you put ALL of your effort into, you’ll learn things that will help you immensely in your next endeavor.

And I can personally attest to that. I learned a whole lot from my unsuccessful wedding photography business — things that have been invaluable to both my current success and my personal life. I wouldn’t be where I am now if I hadn’t really jumped in with both feet on that business.

If one of your goals is to start a small business, understand that jumping in with both feet doesn’t have to mean quitting your day job right off the bat. (Although that works for some folks who work well under massive pressure.) But it does mean that you have to put at least as much time and energy into your startup as you do into your regular job. Things like sleeping, surfing the net, cleaning the house, and running errands may have to just go by the way side.

If one of your goals is to improve your understanding of things like investing, have a massive read-a-thon where you take intensive notes. Talk to reputable experts in the field. Get in the habit of checking google finance 20 times a day. Quiz yourself.

Just…really get into it in depth, and for a good solid time period.

And whatever your goal, get an accountability partner. Discuss what you’re doing with like-minded people at set times and regular intervals.

Really go for it.

At any rate, his story highlights the need to teach kids how to be financially responsible.

And you know, I think kids learn the same way that adults do, which means that in order to teach our kids how to do something we have to actually let them do it.

I’m a believer in kids needing money to practice with, so that means things like giving kids an allowance, letting them do additional chores or odd jobs as they get older, and letting them get a job.

It means showing them that we are responsible with our own money by doing things like saving, investing, and giving — and then discussing how we came to those decisions and how they impact us.

We can do some of that by musing out loud that we spent our money on X, so now we’re not doing Y; or by saying that we’re not going to do B because we’re saving up to do C — and then following through on our words.

It means opening savings and checking accounts with them, and letting them in on the decision process (if they are very little) or having them make the decisions themselves (if they’re a little older).

It also means letting them blow their whole allowance or paycheck on something if they want to, but then standing back and letting them experience the consequence of their actions. That usually involves firmly saying no if they want something afterward and don’t have the money — even if they miss out on something fun. Saying “no” is often the hard part. We want our kids to have fun, and enjoy themselves. It’s tempting to just lend them the money for a few days, but to me that’s the equivalent of showing them the slippery slope of debt and giving them a shove.

Finally, it means showing them that being responsible with money is how you get to where you want to be. After all, what’s the point in being responsible if all it seems to get you is misery?

I don’t know about you, but as someone who had money problems in the past, I can tell you that it’s a lot nicer being responsible and stress-free when it comes to money than it ever was worrying about how on earth I was going to pay for even basic things. Money is for a lot of things, and one of them is enjoying life.

You probably realize that it would be a weight off your shoulders — no more stressing about credit card bills or worrying about what would happen if you lose your job — but there would be more to it than that.

So imagine this scenario with me for a moment:

You get your paycheck, and the whole check is all yours. Really yours.

It’s not earmarked for debt before it even hits the bank. In fact, you can do whatever you want with it. Anything! It’s like you’re a kid again.

Now sure, you’re going to use some of it for your daily needs of eating, keeping warm/cool, and having somewhere to live, but that can be as minimal as you like.

After that the choices are wide open.

Want to contribute 40% to retirement? Save up and buy a boat? Fly off on random trips that you can easily afford? Take your kids out of school for a year and volunteer in some obscure country? Work at a low paying job you love? Live off interest and dividends, and don’t work at all?

Go ahead.

The possibilities are endless.

What would you love to do if you were out of debt? Or what ARE you doing if you’re already debt free?

Having that kind of reaction now and then is probably normal, but the thing is, it’s also a sign.

It’s a sign that in some way, that person has touched on something that we would like to be doing or having for ourselves. And you know what? Many times we probably can do or have those things too, if we really want them.

It just takes commitment and work, and of course a belief that those things are possible in our own lives too. Unfortunately, it’s all too easy to say oh but I can’t do that because _______.

But we can.

Doing things like getting out of debt, making good money, traveling, living in a nice house, etc are totally doable. They’re just not necessarily easy. It may seem like stuff just falls in other people’s laps, but most of the time it really doesn’t.

You just don’t see the effort involved. You’re not there for the early mornings, the late nights, the extra jobs, the times they passed up eating out in order to get debt paid off, and the other sacrifices and choices. If you were — or if you’re already doing those things yourself — you’d know just how possible getting what you want is.

And when you do get what you want through hard work, it feels good. Really good. Because you can enjoy the fruits of your labor, knowing that you deserve it. And knowing that you can do it again if you want to.

So how do you turn a great snippet of advice into action?

Let’s take a common financial goal as an example: buying a house. If you want to buy a house, you can start by asking yourself a list of questions like these:

• What kind of house do you want to have, starting with your dream house?
• What features will it have?
• How many bedrooms and bathrooms?
• What kind of things will it be located near?

Once you get those answers, move on to the minimum requirements for a house that would meet your needs. Maybe your dream house has 4 bedrooms and an office, but at a minimum you’d like 2 bedrooms and a nook in the living room where you could set up an office.

Once you can visualize both of these things, you can start to figure out how to make at least one of them happen. You can check the price ranges of area houses, check with a Realtor to see what might be required to buy a house, check with your budget to see what you might be able to afford, etc.

The same idea can be applied to things like retirement planning, career planning, etc.

In all cases, being able to visualize the “end” clarifies your desires and allows you to make a plan to actually get there.

What about you? How are you coming on your goals for the year? Do you check in on them at regular intervals?

Here’s how I’ve done on my goals so far this year:

• Finish funding my 2009 Roth IRA – DONE
• Fully fund my 2010 IRA – On track so far
• Pay a minimum of $35 extra per month toward mortgage, and send additional as well – Making good progress here.
• Increase my income by at least 100% – Still working on this one.
• Reduce minimum regular expenses to $1800 or less – DONE. Although, my actual expenses are a lot more than that due to things like paying extra on the house and buying a new computer for my business.
• Practice moderation – I still have no idea how to measure this. Anyone have suggestions?
• Try something different every month this year – This has kind of fallen by the wayside.
• Build up to exercising 2-3 times a week for at least 30 minutes each time – Not even coming close on this one.