After struggling with my finances for more time than most people realize is possible, I began thinking more seriously about what I could do to make things right. I began working hard to go through and identify challenges that I was faced with, including the fact that I had several kids that cost a lot of money. I began thinking of ways to work on saving cash, and it was really amazing to see how much of a difference something like skipping drinks with dinner and working on finding foods we could make at home could really be. I wanted to start a new website all about creating a more solid financial plan. Check out this blog.
3 Strategies To Help You Make Better Financial Goals
Having good financial goals is a key element of a smart financial plan. But how can you set the right goals for your assets? You have many options when it comes to the subject of goal-setting, some of which will work better for some people than others. To help you find the right combination of goals, here are three ways to approach the creation of goals.
1. Make Short, Medium, and Long-Term Goals
Financial pros often recommend setting at least one financial goal in each of three time frames: short-term, medium-term, and long-term.
A short-term goal might be to reassess your insurance coverage to make sure it's still appropriate while a medium-term goal may be to reduce the amount of bad debt you hold. A long-term goal may be a target dollar amount for retirement. When you choose one or two goals in each time frame, you can achieve morale-boosting wins and make regular progress in many areas.
2. Choose Fun Goals and Practical Goals
Some investors focus on only one type of financial goal: either fun or practical. You may need to ensure that your retirement will be comfortable, but focusing solely on the distant future robs you of enjoyment in the present. On the other hand, only striving for fun goals like travel may cause you to lose focus on important aspects of managing your wealth for long-term stability.
Solve this management problem and reward yourself by choosing one practical financial goal along with one enjoyable goal. So if you want to start an art collection, make the goal of completing estate planning at the same time.
3. Decide on Something to Stop and to Start
Most people think of money goals in terms of things to start doing. But goals can and should include things to stop doing or reduce. For example, you may want to start investing in alternative investments, buy a rental home for profit, or go back to school for an advanced degree. But can you also stop relying on bad debt, reduce monthly expenses, or get rid of unprofitable investments?
If you create a goal of something you want to start or a milestone you want to reach, pair that with something that you can reduce. This brings balance by eliminating bad habits while boosting the good facets of your financial life.
Where to Start
Want help following one of these goal-making strategies? Start by meeting with a wealth management advisor in your area today. Together, you can design a financial plan that will see you through the bad times and make the good ones even better.