Money in 2009

Number 4 on my Words of 2009 list is money. I will admit that I want to make A LOT of money in 2009. Though, the focus really is to fine tune my career direction so that I am doing what I enjoy, living the type of life that works for me and that, of course, I am making A LOT of money.

Suze Orman has great material on how to be wiser with money. Jim Kramer is out there helping people make money investing. There is no lack of information available on making, saving, and investing money. My problem is that I like simple and easy. My second problem is that reading, talking, or thinking about finances BORES me. So, how do I keep focus on the word "money" in 2009? By following simple and easy steps that work for me. It's funny that as I have gotten older, I seem to come back to the "what works for me" philosophy - part intelligence, part intuition, part understanding myself. Here are my simple and easy steps:

1. Make more money - there is opportunity to make money in a downturn. There are things I can do to bring it different types of projects or make my stock of higher value i.e. getting a Project Management Professional certification. Also, there are other adjunct teaching positions that I can apply for. And, niche blogging is an option.

2. Don't spend as much - Hello? I have gotten into a very bad habit of eating out and eating at home, even half of that time, would make a difference. A good portion of my purchases are unconscious or impulse purchases - I should be making conscious decisions on where my money goes. Books and my wardrobe are important to me but having the latest ipod over my shuffle won't make a big difference in my quality of living.

3. Think more big picture - I find that the purchases I can do without are usually the ones that are based on wanting something for the immediate pleasure. Staying focused on the big picture will help me earn and spend money in relation to where I want to be in the future and what I want my life to look like.

So, a few money guidelines for 2009. Do you stop to think about your relationship to money? Do you have some "guidelines" for 2009 or a philosophy the rest of us could benefit from? If you don't think about it or have a philosphy, you should.