Setting attainable goals is an important part of reaching financial freedom. Budgeting expert, Nathan Lippincott, gives advice on how to set and reach your financial goals.
Everyone has some type of goal, plan or intention for their life, whether it’s clearly acknowledged and outlined or not. It may just be a desire in the back of your mind or heart – but whatever it is, whether it has to do with retirement, career, relationships, spirituality or even health, we know goals help us to accomplish things and give us purpose in our daily actions. It is much easier to complete tasks successfully when we have a goal we are working towards. This is especially true when it comes to finances!
Set Small Goals First
To get my family out of debt, I had a financial plan with a very distinct and motivating goal. I wanted financial security and also wanted to be able to implement a retirement plan. It took me over five years to become debt free, but without setting my goal, I would never have made it. Without a plan, I was just sinking further and further into debt.
If you’ve never attempted to create a money-saving plan around a goal, you can start small. Here are a few things to consider trying:
Decrease your spending by a certain amount – start by saving an extra $25 a month
Make a grocery list and meal plan to decrease food costs
Reduce spending on entertainment outside the home by only going out once a month
Challenge yourself to not spend a single penny for a certain amount of days each month
Try one of these for one month, just to see how much of an impact reaching a small goal can do for both your wallet and your mindset. Ultimately, you will want to take what you’ve learned from working on small goals and apply it to the number one goal: to be debt free and financially stable.
Now that I am debt free, my new goal is to help others on this journey. I have been where you are and I have the tools to help you reach your financial goal, such as having a detailed monthly budget, financial planning for the future, retirement and career choices. Making small steps in this process can be intimidating, but with my help, you can move forward.
Identify Your Goals
To properly identify goals to work on, you need to answer these questions for yourself:
Where do you want to be in your life after five, ten or 25 years?
Are you happy with your current income and workplace growth potential?
Are you happy in your relationships and achieving enough work/life balance to be fully present and involved where it matters?
Can you be a better person, reach out to more people, or contribute more to society?
If you don’t have a plan to get you to your answer, you will never progress and reach your dream. Most people wait around for success to just happen, but successful people make it happen.
Ask For Help to Reach Your Goals
Seven years ago, when I started answering those questions for myself, I knew I had to make a change. A friend once told me to remember three things: Invest in yourself; working works – and give!
I am a living testament to this. I invested in myself by reading to learn as much as I could. I worked hard – it wasn’t easy to become debt free. And now I want to give. I have found a new career path that fulfills me because it allows me to help others, like you.