How Year-End Journaling Can Help You Build Wealth With More Confidence
The Missing Step in Most Wealth-Building Plans
I had a thought recently about my own financial journey, and I think my money confidence was not only built from knowledge alone - but also because I started having so much awareness around my financial prosperity and goals. Year-end journaling was a natural way for me to reflect on my financial successes or woes and gave me time to strategize if I need to hit a “financial reset button”. As I am preparing for my December review with my financial advisor, I have found it is a good time to pull out my mid-year notes and consider opportunities for changes in the New Year. Perhaps there are some patterns in my spending that I have noticed but journaling my successes and planning really give me good insight. I consider what I want to see changed in my portfolio, how my spending or saving may need to be adjusted and then reflect if my overall expectations still align with my portfolio. Pulling this all together, not just the numbers but putting my thoughts on paper, really keeps me focused for our sessions and I build confidence in myself with all my preparation.
I believe that wealth is created through clarity and consistency. And with reflection, it can help you see what your numbers will not show you on paper - your beliefs, emotions and patterns. Without reviewing the past year, I could be repeating some of the bad habits that hold me back and I do not want to go backward if I do not have to. Instead, I want to proceed with power and thought, so journaling creates the emotional stability needed to make long-term financial decisions - big or small.
There are emotional and mental health benefits of journaling, most important for me is when I think and document my thoughts about money it reduces my anxiety. I think laying out my big money plans for the next year also helps improve my emotional perspective, so I do not impulse buy - usually because I know those big-ticket experiences need every dollar. Journaling could also help me avoid stress-based financial cycles; I am not making a choice quickly during an emergency because in most urgent cases I instead rely on my emergency fund, home repair or medical sinking funds for unplanned expenses. Journaling really helps boost my financial confidence because it provides me a place to bring more self-awareness to my plans and agenda for the future. And it is an area that allows me to feel in control compared to managing chaos because I do not know what I want to do. Perhaps it is just emotionally grounded people who make calmer and more intentional money choices.
What Year-End Journaling Reveals About Your Financial Patterns
With so many individuals taking time off for the holidays, I would really encourage you to take some of that time to complete your year-end journaling as it might reveal some insights into your financial patterns. Some examples of insights or perceptions you might gain: (i) spending triggers, (ii) financial values misalignment, (iii) wins you forgot to celebrate, (iv) habits that you have quietly improved, (v) fear-based or avoidance behaviors you might want to correct, (vi) relationship patterns around money like guilt, shame, comparison. If you find some of these pertains to you, it is great progress that you noticed these patterns as the first step to improving them.
Does a journaling process seem overwhelming to you? Let me offer you my simple year-end journaling process that I think anyone can do. Here is my approachable structure for consideration:
Review the Year With Honesty, Not Judgment. What went well? What felt hard? Where did you surprise yourself? If you were a bit on the fence about a particular topic or build strength so you were more on point with a topic, write that down as an improvement.
Celebrate Your Financial Wins. Cheer on the progress you made, did you use a debit card exclusively, set aside a starter emergency fund, start a sinking fund, etc. Make sure you give yourself a pat on the back as all wins should be acknowledged for steps towards money success. Acknowledging wins is important because it boosts your confidence and builds motivation because you can visually see evidence of your progress. It can also reinforce these positive behaviors in the future because it creates a positive feedback loop for continued growth. For me this celebration will help me stay optimistic if I run into snaps in the future.
Identify the Financial Friction Points. Perhaps there are categories that you are overspending on (most typically with my clients is eating out & groceries). By journaling you can document opportunities for improving or tackling those overages in a new way. You may also find that stress triggers you and going forward you can be mindful to either plan opportunities to overcome or perhaps budget some of those triggers into your regular plan. You may also find that when thinking about the past, there are missed opportunities that you want to ensure you handle going forward in your annual financial plan.
Capture the Lessons Learned. I am a huge believer in documenting lessons learned and sharing them. Some examples might be to ask yourself “what this year taught you about money”, or “where are the boundaries that I need to improve upon”, or have you considered “I want to grow/shrink this particular spending habit”, and always revisit your priorities and did they serve you well this year. If not, document how you might want to adjust or change your goals and priorities next year.
Reimagine Your Wealth-Building Year Ahead. Lastly, you want to think about what you want your financial life to look and feel like next year. Perhaps there are some 1–2 intentions you want to maintain or change. Note intentions are not New Year's resolutions, instead be aware that resolutions are usually focused on outcomes while intentions focus on identity. Think of resolutions as having results and hitting a target while resolutions your identity, values, and relationship with money — which drive sustainable behaviors. Some examples of intentions might be: “I am becoming a woman who prioritizes financial peace.” Or “I make aligned spending choices” while another is “I treat my money with care.”
Journal Prompts to Build Wealth With More Confidence
Part of journaling is just to get the juices flowing so you can brain dump. If you need some journal prompts to build wealth with more confidence, try these examples:
“This year, my relationship with money taught me…”
“One belief about money that I want to release is…”
“A financial habit that built my confidence this year was…”
“One area where I want to grow next year is…”
“To feel more financially secure, I need to…”
“A money win I’m proud of — even if it felt small — was…”
Journaling can truly lead to better financial decisions because your patterns become more visible and you start to make decisions based on your financial values without pressure. It also helps because you become more intentional with your financial plans, which leads to being less reactive when buying. This should help you avoid repeating costly mistakes because you have created awareness of areas you want to improve. My hope is as you get more comfortable journaling you feel more capable and confident — which fuels wealth-building behaviors
This is the transformation I want for everyone!
Confidence Is Built, Not Born
Do not stress if you don’t have hours of time or a fancy journal, instead start with a notebook or even a sheet of paper and reflect for 10 minutes over coffee using the prompts from above. A few minutes of reflection can shift your entire financial year. Confidence grows through small daily habits — and journaling is one of the most powerful. If you would like help, strategize and move from uncertainty to clarity and full financial power you can schedule a FREE 45-minute clarity call.
What “money wins” did you have this year? Have you journaled before and found it helpful? Share your thoughts on my social @lordfinancialcoaching
