Celebrate!

It is important to celebrate your financial milestones. Keeping to a budget is hard work. Reaching savings and investing goals is a big deal. Paying off debt is exciting. Go ahead, plan a party!

Celebrating can take many forms. Anything from a shout of “Yes!” and a “fist pump” in the air, to a dinner out on the town, to a full blown luxury cruise! It depends on what you have achieved. The larger the goal, the larger the celebration. Just be sure that you don’t go into debt in order to celebrate, and be sure you don’t celebrate achieving your savings goals by spending half of what you’ve saved!

Here are some money events that I believe are worthy of celebration:

When you make and keep a successful budget for the first time – Celebrate!

When you analyze and reduce your recurring expenses – Celebrate!

When you pay off a credit card debt (and then shred the card) – Celebrate!

When you pay off a car, boat or RV – Celebrate!

When you reach a major savings milestone, whether you have saved your first $100, $10,000 or $100,000 – Celebrate!

When you get a raise, promotion or new job – Celebrate!

When you complete your education; whether college, technical training, MBA, or a certification program – Celebrate!

When you pay off your mortgage – Celebrate!

Why celebrate? Because you’ve earned it! Through work, planning and sacrifice you are closer to your goals. Just as each win brings a team one step closer to the playoffs, each time you win you are one step closer to financial independence.

I fondly remember the day when I checked my 401k balance and discovered that the value had risen to the 6-digit range. The first thing I did was tell my wife. The next thing I did was drive to the store to buy a really good bottle of wine to go with dinner. Celebrate!

I was just offered a new job. Hurray for me! After I complete my first week, my wife and I will go out to dinner to celebrate. I will order whatever I want. 

Someday, I will finish paying off my house. On that day, we will have a mortgage burning party in the backyard. The first thing we will BBQ is that old mortgage. Goodbye debt! Then, I’ll throw on the steaks and burgers. You are all invited to celebrate with me!

I’d love to hear about your money goals and how you will celebrate once you meet them. Please leave a comment below or email me at my-moneytrip@cox.net.