Resolutions to help you achieve financial freedom

It's that time of the year again! The beginning of a whole New Year 2008!

The start of a new year promises fresh perspectives, renewed energy and cheerful optimism. We can wipe the slate clean for 2007, forget about what we have not achieved in terms of the steps towards financial freedom and focus on achieving the goals that lead us towards our ultimate goal of generating an amount of passive income that supports our lifestyles.

New Year Resolutions
Some of you groan at hearing this. No, not again! Some of us get all excited about setting New Year's resolutions only to see them forgotten or ignored after a few days, weeks or months.

It doesn't have to be so. You have the power to break this habit and form a new habit in moving yourself from your current situation to an even better one for the rest of 2008.

Setting goals is part of planning your journey towards financial freedom. The trick then is to set realistic goals. You know that financial freedom will not be achieved overnight but takes patience, dedication and discipline to get there.

To get things started, let me share some of my goals towards financial freedom for 2008.

Goals for 2008 towards financial freedom
1. To increase my networth position by 20% by 31 December 2008
2. To read 3 books about technical analysis and charting by 31 March 2008
3. To maintain my health through proper diet (fruits & veggies, rolled oats, no over-eating) and exercise (3x a week) throughout the year
4. To plan and start an college tuition fund for my daughter to mature in 18 years' time

Goal setting do not have to be fancy. You just have to make it SMART, i.e. describe the goals in a specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and set a time frame. The key to achieving your goals is not to overwhelm yourself with them and at the same time to make them exciting enough that you would desire to achieve them for the extrinsic and intrinsic benefits they bring you.

For me, being and staying healthy gives me a big kick because when you are healthy, your quality of life really improves compared to when you are having the sniffles, sneezing and coughing. In addition, health is truly wealth because healthcare costs are increasing and every once of effort invested in prevention through proper diet, exercise and rest reaps bountiful benefits in the long-run.

I remember reading Napolean Hill's "Think and Grow Rich" to reach for the stars because even if we fail to reach it we will hit the moon.

Looking back at 2007
Looking back at 2007, my portfolio returned a realised 7.4% return based on dividends, interest and realised capital gains which was credible but could be improved as my returns could have been higher if I had done less speculative transactions in the 3rd quarter of 2007. On paper, my portfolio now is a little bit in the red (-0.62%) based on mark-to-mark to market and this makes it more challenging for me to beat 2007's performance. If the equity market proves buoyant, then I will have a good chance of matching 2007's performance but it looks like I have a lot of living within my means, saving and investing to do for 2008!

New Year's resolutions can be beneficial if you set SMART objectives and are truly committed to achieving your goals. Each of you are motivated by different desires, wants and needs. It is for you to find out what and why you will be enthused into pursuing your own version of financial freedom!

Be well and prosper in 2008!