My goodness, what a year! 2020, amiright?

The only thing I’m more sick of than the actual year of 2020 is having to hear about what an awful year it was.

Every year, right around now, the majority of us make pacts with ourselves to make us “better” (whatever that means) in the coming 365 days. The New Year’s resolution business is going to go gangbusters in 2021.

I need to lose weight. I need to drink less. I’m going to spend more time with my family. I’m going to call my parents/kids/grandkids more. I’m going to TRAVEL! This year is finally going to be the year that I get my finances in order…

You know the drill. It’s our annual right of passage. And you undoubtedly know how fruitless this exercise is.

A landmark 1988 study out of the University of Scranton found that while 77 percent of people who committed to a New Year's resolution stuck to it for a week, only 19 percent of those who made resolutions actually fulfilled them within two years. And the statistics have only gotten worse over time: According to a survey by Statista, only four percent of people who made New Year's resolutions in 2018 said they kept them. ~Bestlifeonline.com

As the ball dropped at midnight yesterday and the year transitioned from 2020 to 2021, what specifically did you think you were going to change about yourself in 2021 to make your resolutions more achievable?

Keep things simple. That’s a good place to start. Here are a few ideas to help you get through setting a few resolutions that you might actually keep this year.

Identify Behaviors you can change more than having a specific goal

This is a little counterintuitive but stay with me. Everyone tells you that you should have very SPECIFIC goals. After all, that’s what the “S” stands for in S.M.A.R.T. goals, for crying out loud. While we’re on that topic, the “M” stands for measurable, and I don’t think your New Year’s resolution should be either specific or measurable. When we’re talking about changing a behavior, I find it far more important to simply focus on that behavior over anything else. The specific and measurable stuff will happen on its own.

For example, don’t say “I’m going to lose 15 pounds by June”. Instead, let’s focus on the behavior that will get us there, like “I plan to walk 3 miles every morning, avoid having snacks between meals, and fast from 7pm following my dinner until 10:30am the following morning.” That’s it. Simple. Straight forward. No need to constantly check the scale every morning. If you stick to the behaviors, the goal will take care of itself.

Be kind to yourself and forgive a few missteps along the way

Now it’s January 14th. You’ve been walking every morning, you’re feeling refreshed. You avoid snacks because the goal is super fresh in your mind and you’re determined. Fasting has proven to be frustrating, but you have even managed to accomplish that. Then, you hit a snag. Maybe someone in your office brings in donuts or bagels that morning and they look just way too tempting. Maybe you couldn’t sleep the night before, and you’re running behind in the morning, “no time for that 3-mile walk today,” you think to yourself. Guess what? That’s OK. Forgive yourself and move on. Start again tomorrow.

If 3-miles is just too much walking on a daily basis or the fasting schedule is proving impossible to keep, you can allow yourself to change those resolutions, too. Make adjustments and course-correct along the way, but be kind to yourself above all else.

Shoot for one-in-a-row

Along with the two themes above, I’ve stolen this one from Matthew McConaughey’s new book. Every day, your goal should be to accomplish your specific change in behavior for one day in a row. Don’t set off on this journey and say, “I’m not drinking until March” or “I’m going to meditate every morning at 5am”…instead, focus on “I’m not going to drink tomorrow.” And then do it again the next day.

If you start stringing enough one-day-in-rows together, you’ll start to get somewhere. Best of all, if you mess up today, you can start tomorrow on a new streak of one-day-in-a-row. Be kind to yourself.

The Latest on the Most Recent Stimulus Act…

The latest version of the second Covid-relief stimulus bill was voted on and approved by Congress on December 21st and clocked in at a whopping 5,593 pages. Incidentally, I recently found out that all bills passed by the United States legislature have to be printed on a certain type of parchment (not paper) by printers from the U.S. Treasury. Crazy, huh? Seems like a PDF would be just fine.

Anyhow, here is a great article from the New York Times that gives a very general summary of the most important parts of the bill. We’re still waiting to see if the Senate will vote on increasing the dollar amount of the personal stimulus checks, but the bill has been signed by the President and is law.

Stimulus Checks

If you make less than $75,000 (or $150k, married filing jointly, $112,500 as head of household) you will receive a check for $600 for each adult in the household and for qualifying dependent children. Congress and President Trump are pressuring the Senate on increasing the checks from $600 to $2,000, but Mitch McConnell has so far kept the change from reaching the floor for a vote.

The language on what is a qualified child and/or dependent has changed quite a bit from the first draft and is worth keeping an eye on. Originally, it was for dependent children under the age of 17 and that qualify for the Child Tax Credit. Then it became dependent children or dependent relatives based on your last filed tax return. As the father of a recently turned-17-year-old son, it’s easy for me to empathize with those trying to figure out which kids qualify and which do not.

Unemployment benefits

Heading into Christmas, as many as 12 million Americans that are still relying upon Unemployment Benefits were facing the challenge of that going away on December 26th. This new stimulus bill extends the federal “topper” benefit for $300 per week for another 11 weeks on top of their state benefits.

Updates to the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loans

The biggest issue that small businesses that took a PPP loan were facing as the year came to a close was having to count any forgiven portion of the loan as taxable revenue for the year 2020. While this had been an ongoing concern, Congress ended the debate and says that expenses paid with your PPP loan are deductible from revenue.

Also of note, there will be a seperate PPP Part 2, so businesses that potentially need money in future downturns will be able to apply, but you can’t apply for a PPP Part 2 loan if you already received a PPP Part 1 loan.

Also, if you borrowed less than $150k, you will have a 1-page “easy application” for loan forgiveness. Congress gave the SBA 24 days to have that implemented.

Funding for vaccines and nursing homes

This seems like the area we needed to address more than any other with this stimulus package. Nearly $70 billion of federal aid was approved to help with public health measures like getting vaccines distributed in a timely manner and to help with future test-and-trace programs. <Applause>

Plenty of other stuff

What would you expect from a stimulus bill that’s over 5,000 pages long? Of course, there are some added spending programs that are, how shall we say this nicely…completely unrelated to Covid-19 relief such as…$35 billion to help fund solar, wind, and clean energy projects and $7 billion to increase broadband internet infrastructure.

There is also a ban on surprise medical bills that will take place in 2022, extending the moratorium on evictions until January 31st, allowing clients to carry over unused portions of theie healthcare FSA funds, and the FAFSA (the Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is getting a MAJOR overhaul that will take effect in June of 2023, amongst a myriad of other, more minor items.

Noble Wealth Pro Tip of the Month

If you’re a small business owner that needed and used a PPP loan earlier in the year, we would highly recommend you wait to apply for forgiveness and continue to have open communication with your bankers on the forgiveness application.

As we mentioned in the last section, the SBA has been given directives to simplify the application for forgiveness for PPP loans of less than $150k as well as changes for the “Covered Period” of the loan, as all borrowers can now choose between the 8-week or 24-week covered period.

The SBA was given 24 days from 12/21/2020 to have the simplified, 1-page form ready to go. Over 90% of the PPP loans that were made were for less than $150k, so this is going to be a very favorable change.

Things We’re Reading and Enjoying

Greenlights, by Matthew McConaughy

This was easily one of my favorite books of the last five years. Refreshing and adventurous, not to mention a very quick read, I put this book away in a couple of afternoons following Christmas. I hear the audiobook is INCREDIBLY entertaining with McConaughy doing the reading himself (if that’s more your jam).

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the Academy Award®–winning actor, an unconventional memoir filled with raucous stories, outlaw wisdom, and lessons learned the hard way about living with greater satisfaction. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE GUARDIAN.

The Plague Year, by Lawrence Wright - The New Yorker

A solid read on a recap of the story that shaped our year. A nice piece, but a scary piece.