Establish Attainable Financial Goals

Often times, when we set goals, they are often worthy and laudable. Unfortunately, rarely are they attainable. We establish goals that are seemingly doable, but we haven’t honed the skills necessary to reach them. When we start back at the gym, we vow to ourselves that we’ll go five days a week, for two-hour stretches. We may keep this up for a week or two. Then we stop because we are exhausted. The plain fact of the matter: we were not in good enough shape for such a workout routine to begin with. The same can be said for planning and setting financial goals.

Establish Attainable Goals – Articulate the biggest and wildest dreams you have. Figure out a way to achieve these dreams by breaking them up into smaller, more attainable tasks. Once you’ve done that, breakdown those goals into smaller objectives and tasks. For example, you might decide that you want to have a net worth of $1 million (dream/overall goal). To do this, you might realize that you first have to own a house (smaller goal). In order to own a house, you might have save money for a down payment (smaller task). In order to save money for a down payment, you might have to reduce your credit card debt (smallest task). Therefore, in order to reach your large goal, first concentrate on the attainable short-term goal of eliminating your credit card debt.

Start Small – As mentioned above, starting small will give you the skills, building blocks, and confidence to reach your goals. Start small and expand from there. If you have a goal of saving X amount of money this year, but you have never saved money before, then start small and build off your success. Try to set aside 1% of your paycheck. When that is a comfortable amount, up it to 5%. When that has become comfortable, raise it to 10%. Many stop at 10%, but you may want to extend it to 15-20% of your paycheck.

Work Through the Setbacks — As with most things in life, there will be setbacks. Face this fact early on and arm yourself with the necessary mindset right away. Know that these hiccups will come along the way in reaching your financial goals. Be confident that you will be able to work through the setbacks and that you will be able to keep your eyes on the prize.

If you establish goals–attainable goals–you will build the necessary habits and develop the ideal skills to make your financial dreams a reality.