Exploring the focus funnel, routines, and money values

Welcome to the Intentional Dollar weekly newsletter — great work taking this small step to move your money forward. I’m Logan, a Certified Financial Planner™, and I’m excited you’re here!

What’s inside?

• One tool to experiment with

• Two quotes from others

• Three questions to dig deeper

• Four lines of poetry for the point

_{One tool to experiment with:}

The Focus Funnel:

Where do you spend your finite focus?

By this I mean, what things do you really devote energy to? Your job? Your friends? Your hobbies?

Focus is a funnel that directs your energy. It takes a vast array of energy and concentrates it to a pinpoint location. When you are able to direct your focus, time slips away seamlessly.

The things you have right now, financial or not, are in your life as a function of the focus, or lack of focus, you’ve channeled to them.

In diffusion we explored the idea of filling one bucket vs aiming to fill multiple buckets at a single point — you’ll have more outsized impact toward the single source. When you diffuse your efforts, it takes too long to build up.

With the focus funnel, you pre-meditate on your end target:

• Retirement savings

• Car fund

• Debt pay down

• Investment allocation

• Dream vacation

• Home remodel

When your energy and resources get funneled into that specific location, you’ll simply have more success with the objective. You’ll push more dollars there. You’ll spend more creative effort generating ideas to enhance that area. You’ll ask yourself more questions about the target. You’ll be better.

Someone with a singular focus is formidable. Someone without a focus funnel is fragile.

When you don’t have this tool in place, you become privy to the norms of the crowd. You’re influenced by trends, algorithms, hot-takes — social pressures to conform to the crowd.

In short, other people’s opinions ultimately dictate what you do with your dollars.

The focus funnel keeps your main thing in sight and keeps your mind’s filter searching for appropriate pieces to the puzzle.

Is it possible to not accrue gains in the sole financial area you devote your focus to?

As a challenge this week, pick a day and take a focus inventory. Your calendar states your meetings, or obligations, but between the meetings there are gaps. Where does your time go? Make a note of how you spend your time and note the time costs of your activities — everything.

If you’ve been plagued by the “busy trap” and think you don’t have time, this will show you the holes to your own excuse.

You aren’t too busy to focus on the thing you should be focused on. You’re distracted by 1,000 little things that you’ve elevated on the priority chart.

_{Two quotes on routines:}

Your money routines will largely influence your financial picture. What are your standard routines?

_{Three questions on money values:}

1. Do the things you own reflect your values?

2. What things have you traded dollars for that you wish you could trade back?

3. Would you spend your dollars differently if no one ever saw what you bought?

Which question stuck with you? Questions like these are spotlights for the mind. Reply to this email and let me know which one shined light on a previously dark cave.

_{Four lines of poetry for the point:}

Contact Me:

Content ideas, questions? Reply to this email or reach out to me at [email protected]