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space with, and feel as if you’re making a difference, I don’t think the kind of car you drive, whether you have a big-screen TV, or how often you eat in a fancy restaurant will mean much. If you can focus on creating the life you want, taking small steps to achieve your goals and finding a way to laugh while you’re doing it, I’m willing to bet you won’t even miss your credit cards.
TIME TO SET A GOAL
    Now choose the first goal you want to accomplish based on your revised
A
list and/or what you’ve negotiated with your partner. Hold off on making this about cutting your spending, paying off your debt, or saving a bag of money until we’re farther along in this journey together. For now, make your goals something to do with your life, and not specifically with your money.
    When I was writing this book I had a goal—to get the book written by a certain date—along with a series of milestones that would see me to my goal by the date I’d set. My steps included setting aside a certain amount of time each day to write. I also knew I wanted a few people to read my first draft and comment, so I had to build that into my schedule. My milestones were these:
    • Create an outline for the book by …
    • Break down the outline into specific chapters by …
    • Write
x
page49per day (ongoing)
    • Have three chapters complete by …
    • Give the first three chapters to K for review by …
    • Have the next three chapters complete by …
    • Give the next three chapters to K for review by …
    • Incorporate K’s first set of comments by … … and so on.
    Now it’s your turn. Decide on your first goal and write it at the top of a piece of paper. Create a series of milestones for that goal.
SIX QUESTIONS TO KEEP YOU ON TRACK
    All through the goal-setting process, you should ask yourself these questions:
    1. WHY do I want to achieve this goal?
    2. By WHEN do I want to achieve this goal?
    3. WHAT specific steps will I need to take in order to meet this goal?
    4. HOW will I do this?
    5. WHOM may I need help from to achieve this goal?
    6. WHERE in my priorities is this goal?
    You answer the WHY question because you want to create a clear picture in your own mind of what this goal is going to do for you. Maybe you want to go to school, and your WHY is to be able to make lots ‘n’ lotsa money.
    You answer the WHAT question to lay out the steps you must take to get to your goal. The more detailed those steps, the better your plan. A good test of your “steps” is to hand them to someone else and ask whether they make sense and are clear and complete. Sometimes getting another perspective helps us see the holes in our plans.
    WHEN is important because a goal without a deadline is just a dream. If you want to get into your program of choice “someday,” in all likelihood “someday” will never come. If you want in this September, then you’ve got to get your butt moving to make it so. Every single step in your WHAT should have a WHEN if you’re serious about getting to where you want to be.
    HOW is a reality check. If you say you want to go to school, but you don’t have two red cents to rub together, how will you support yourself, pay school fees, buy books, and eat! HOW isn’t meant to poop on your dream. HOW asks you to be real about what you want in light of where you are now.
    WHO helps you to identify the other people who will affect (or be affected by) your goal. If you want to go to school and your partner is prepared to help, (s)he’s your WHO. If your parents are willing to give you money for birthdays and other special occasions to help you achieve your goal, they are your WHO. If your kids are going to have to cook and do their own laundry so you have time to pursue your goal, they are your WHO.
    WHERE speaks to the fact that people often have multiple goals competing for limited resources and time. You want to go to school. You want to have a family. You want to buy a house. You want to travel.