Checkpoints

A personal checkpoint is a way for us to see how we’re doing with a particular goal. It’s important because if we don’t check in from time to time, we won’t truly be able to measure our progress and discover what might be hindering our goals.

The best part is that implementing checkpoints isn’t difficult to do. If you have a calendar on your device or one hanging on your wall, you can mark down a set of dates on which you will assess how you’re doing. Exactly what you are assessing for yourself is based on your particular goals.

For example, if you have stated that you are going to pay off a particular credit card balance in a certain timeframe, the checkpoints serve as a way to measure your progress as you get closer to the date when the credit card should be paid in full. Depending on the balance and your income, you may be giving yourself six months to pay off the card.

Your checkpoints should be scheduled in a way that allows you to have enough time to get things on track should you make some mistakes along the way. In this example, we have given ourselves six months to reach the goal of paying off a credit card balance. A healthy personal checkpoint schedule should consist of checkpoints being scheduled a couple of times each month, up until the six-month mark. If we are getting closer to the six-month goal date and aren’t making as much progress as we had hoped, we should be increasing the number of checkpoints or adjusting the goal date accordingly.

Another benefit of using personal checkpoints is that it keeps your most important goals front of mind. You know that you will need to assess yourself every couple of weeks in the example that we just used here, so with that in mind, you will place your focus where it needs to be in order to move forward with your goal at a healthy pace.

Now, can you use personal checkpoints as a way of accountability with another person? Absolutely, yes you can. If you are married and would like to be accountable to each other, schedule the checkpoint conversations for the both of you to have as needed so that you’re accomplishing your goal together.

If you’re single and would like to have a friend or family member help you with accountability, your checkpoint could be scheduled with that person, provided that he or she is actually going to hold you accountable if you find that you aren’t where you need to be.

The main goal of personal checkpoints, whether you are doing them on your own or with an accountability partner, is to ensure that you are staying on track. Your likelihood of achieving your goals when you include checkpoints throughout the process goes up significantly by simply implementing this one thing. When you ask yourself how you’re doing or having someone else ask you this question periodically, your goal will more easily stay front of mind and be accomplished in the specified timeframe as intended.

It's not a trick or a hack, either. This is a tried and true method for accomplishing any goal that you set out to do. Your personal checkpoint is a way for you to assess yourself based on your own personal goals that you have set to make sure that you’re on track and completing what you had set out to do.

With this in mind, it’s a waste of time for you to compare yourself to others. Don’t concern yourself with what your friends, neighbors, or family members are doing with their personal finance goals. Comparing yourself to others is a waste of time since you really don’t know the entire story on their end, anyway.

What you should be doing instead is comparing yourself to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Are you becoming more like Christ and walking in His ways every day? From Romans 5:1, therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

So remember to always praise Jesus, and seek His will in your life in not just personal finance but in all things. God bless.