I’ve been busy creating my 2009 income and spending plan for next year, for the Women’s Earning Institute. I do this work with clients all the time, and know first hand how powerful it is. (Don’t think for a minute that I don’t practice what I preach!) An annual income and spending plan process incorporates looking back at what worked and didn’t work, dreaming about your future, goal setting, running scenarios, looking at costs and getting realistic, all in one!

This is also about opening up to more prosperity in your life. The law of attraction, which so many people talk about, demands that we be specific in what we are trying to attract to us. So give yourself something specific to focus on! Exactly how much money do you plan on making in 2009?

The first thing I did was take a good hard look at this year’s plan. I looked at what I planned for my various income streams for 2008. Some things went exactly according to plan. I planned how much money I was going to make in my private money coaching practice, and it came in just about as planned. I planned my business support groups income, and there were no surprises there either. (Though knowing what the plan was for the year kept me focused on keeping my groups full!) But some of my income streams didn’t pan out. As some of you know, I’ve killed some programs. And I’ve launched programs that were never in my original plan for 2008. Back in July I took a good hard look at my 2008 plan and made some serious adjustments in some of my plans. What a relief to be able to adjust!

These past weeks I’ve been debating my income streams for 2009. (I’ll talk about expenses in my next post.) I’ve gone to a coffee shop on more than one occasion with a calculator, notebook and hardcopy printout of my 2008 plan and actuals. Then I’ve listed out what I WANT to do in 2009. For example, I want to continue seeing private clients. I want to continue my groups. Then I listed out my other income streams: the rate-setting toolkit, live seminars, other product ideas, my 12 week (3 month) teleclass program, etc.

I kept asking myself: how do I want to spend my time? What makes me happiest? What do I want to do more of this year? What do I want to do less of? And how can I open up and stay open to more prosperity and abundance? I’ve done a lot of journaling in the last month!

Then I played with my trusty calculator and started running various scenarios. How many rate-setting tool kits do I plan to sell this year? I wrote down the total amount that I want the toolkits to generate. How many women do I want in my 3 month overcoming underearning teleclasses? How much money would this be? How many times will I offer live seminars on rate-setting and at what price point?

You get the point. It feels expansive and, truthfully, a bit overwhelming at the moment. I am planning some things that I know I’ll need help with. (Remember, I’ll talk about expenses in my next post.) But I am in charge of my life and my business. I have to decide what direction I want to go in. This is about living a conscious life. I’m not going to wander into 2009 without a good plan! Oh no. Of course, plans change and need to be adjusted. That is life. But a good plan will take you far. As for me, planning has taken me a long way!