Comments will be open and  you may share what you have accomplished and what you plan to accomplish -  Comments will be  available for public viewing upon approval - Thank you in advance for sharing and please do not be shy or feel it is bragging - Overcoming challenges and reaching a goal is something to be very proud of  - Your story may be just the inspiration and  encouragement to help someone else -

Reverse Bucket List: Look Back Before Looking Forward  
 By Nora Dunn

Everybody has a bucket list — a random list of things we'd like to do, be, or have before we “kick the bucket.” Some people make do with rough mental compilations, while others prefer their bucket lists typed, formatted, and prominently displayed.

But what of the bucket list? Where is the context? How satisfied will we feel about our lives today if we're constantly studying a list of things we haven't done? Where do we even begin with a list like this, instigated no less by a big clock in the sky counting us down towards an unknown “bucket date?”
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Simple Living: Determining Your Priorities   By Sarah Winfrey

Even with the economy slowly exiting the spectacular nosedive it took last year, many people find themselves with a renewed interest in living simply. However, what that means for each person depends on their own individual priorities.

Determining what this means for each of us sounds like it should be easy, but instead is something many of us struggle with more than we are at peace about it.

Simplistic it might seem, but the easiest way to figure out your priorities is to make a list, then whittle it down based on how the different things that are important to you interact.
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Simple Living: Overcoming Negative Inertia   By Sarah Winfrey

Simple living is all about your priorities. It's about knowing yourself well enough to know what you value, why you value it, and what is less important.

It's about making room for what is important by letting go of what isn't. And it's about using your time and space well, focusing your energy on the priorities and truly letting go of the rest.

This sounds easy enough, and yet so many of us struggle with finding this balance. If you've ever found yourself wasting time when you know there's something you could be doing that means a lot to you, you've been in this boat. I know I find myself there all the time.
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What Is Simple Living and Why Should I Care?  By Sarah Winfrey

Even with predictions that our economy is turning around, the current financial climate isn't exactly what most people would call "good." In fact, for some of us, it's downright rotten.

Regardless of your personal situation, the last year could be construed as an alarm clock, buzzing and beeping until we look around, see the excess in our lives, and eliminate it.

While it's true that not everyone feels the pull to cut back, overall there's something attractive about empty space, whether it's in our decorating, how we spend our time, or some wiggle-room in our budgets.

Now that we have the financial motivation, it seems like a good time to figure out what we want, why we want it, and how we're going to get there.
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Defining Success:

If You Don't Know What You Want, You Won't Know When You've Gotten It  By Sarah Winfrey

When it comes to your life, what do you want? How does your money fit into that?

If you can't answer these two questions, you won't ever know when you've been successful In fact, it might be worse than that: you might achieve what you thought you wanted, or what all of your friends want, and suddenly realize that it doesn't satisfy you. In order to make sure you're going the right direction for you, it's important to figure out what you want from your life (to find your definition of "success").
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Many reading these articles may have  very little  debt - have a written detailed plan - and are sitting back just  "waiting" - Good for you who can proudly say that  - Hopefully there are not too many who  cannot say or do that  and hopefully there  will be  some tips here to aid  you in getting  motivated and on track -

Though the  tips are pretty common sense to me I found it helpful to have them  in a precise list form for future reference when  my memory may not be serving  me so  well --

This may be a good list  to pass on to a young  adult - one who wants to  be successful and does not  claim  to  know it all  yet -

37 Savings Changes You Can Make Today  By Nora Dunn

Making changes to your savings plan is about so much more than deciding where to save your money and how much to put away. You can save money by not spending it (yet not losing out or making undue sacrifices), by spending wisely, by becoming more aware of where your money goes, and even by making more money.

Here are 37 ways you can make positive changes and save money — today.
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6 Common Excuses for Not Saving Money   By Tara Struyk

Have you ever settled on a new exercise program, only to get a bad cold a few days in and happily throw yourself on the couch, relieved to have a handy excuse? Excuses must be human nature; I know I usually make them when I'm facing something that’s new, that's hard, or that I just don’t enjoy. And I’ve certainly made excuses when it comes to money.

In the years that I’ve been writing about personal finance and investing, I’ve also heard my fair share of excuses, mostly from readers who don’t agree with my advice.

The problem is, unlike good financial habits, excuses are easy to come by, even though most of them just don’t stand up to reason. Check out some of the ones I’ve heard most frequently so far.
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