Set financial goals and stick to them
Almost everyone has set a goal at some point in their life. The problem is that most people never accomplish them or give up before they complete them. Financial goals are very important to set and even more important to follow and accomplish. Make finances and money fun, not something you dread talking about and avoid at all costs. Here are a few ways to make setting and accomplishing financial goals fun and rewarding.
There are hundreds of Financial goals for you to make including short term and long term. They can range from saving for retirement, saving to buy a car, saving for higher education, saving for a down payment on a new home, paying off credit cards, going on vacation, paying for Christmas gifts with cash, and the list continues.
I have found that in order to accomplish financial goals it’s better to break each goal down into several steps and make the steps fun. For example, lets say your financial goal is to pay off a $3000 credit card bill in the next 2 years that you have only been paying $100 per month toward. In order to do this you will have to pay at least 1/2 of that bill in the first year. This means you will have to pay about $125 per month + any interest that would incur on the bill. Your total payment would be about $140 per month in order to pay off the loan in 2 years (this assumes 10% interest on the credit card).
Now the hard part, finding a way to get this extra $140 per month from your budget. This is where you have to analyze your budget and find out where extra money can come from. If you break that down into weeks (usually about 4 in a month) you will only have to come up with $35 per week. Now break that down into 7 days in a week and you will have to find about $5 per day so let’s over budget and say $6. Doesn’t sound like much money when you put it that way. Here are a few ways you can save a few dollars per day.
*Morning cup of coffee at coffee shop or convenient store: $2 (yes you can drink the coffee at work)
*3 sodas from vending machines: $1.50 (yes you can live without sugar)
*Stop a nasty habit (smoking, chewing, drinking) $3 – $5 per day
*Drink water when you go to restaurants : $1.50 – $2
*No Alcohol at restaurants : $4 – $10
*No snacks from vending machines : $0.75 – $1.00
If you already avoid these things then you might have to pick up a part time job to earn the extra cash. At any rate in order to accomplish your goals you will have to come up with the extra funds. Remember I said it would take some sacrifice but will be well worth it in the end!
The next step is to evaluate your progress daily, weekly, monthly, yearly to keep yourself in check. Make sure you are staying on target to finish your goal in a timely fashion. You can use charts and graphs to track your progress, don’t be afraid to display them in your house, you might inspire friends and family to follow in your footsteps. Some people even use a countdown method and every payment or deposit is subtracted from the total. Use your imagination and you will be surprised at what you might find.
Finally, go do it! Quit talking about making financial goals and get yourself motivated. Once you accomplish one goal the others will fall into line! Remember to reward yourself along the way as you finish a goal this will keep you motivated and wanting to continue to conquer more goals!