Have you ever made goals that you were excited to track but lost steam after a few weeks or months? Well, 2021 is the year to stop with the "good intentions" and create goals that will keep you motivated throughout the year. Of course, there are many areas where you could and should set goals, but we will focus on financial goals for now.
What are your 2021 Financial Goals?
Get out of debt?
Build an emergency fund?
Are you saving for a car, a home, college, or retirement?
Or maybe you want to be more intentional with your spending,
or create monthly budgets and tracking expenses consistently.
Whatever your 2021 financial goals are, let's go through a step-by-step approach to creating goals that will work for you.
First and foremost, take some time to reflect on 2020. Stay with me here, I know 2020 was a challenging year for many people, but the idea is to improve and to ensure that you are moving in the right direction, you have to reflect. Think about what worked and what didn't, what you did well, and where you could improve. Was there something that you were faced with in 2020 that was your "never again" moment? Taking the time to recognize these sometimes difficult questions will help set you up for success as you set your new goals and resolutions.
You also want to make realistic goals. Anyone can say they want to obtain specific goals, but you want those goals to be feasible. Be aware of any roadblocks that may prevent you from reaching your goals so you can pivot if necessary. Now, it is good to have some goals that may be a little bit of a reach, but most of your goals should be realistic. Being able to check off items you have achieved will help keep you motivated. Now, this doesn't mean that you should only create easy goals; remember, the idea is to challenge yourself to improve.
Here are five critical points to keep in mind as you set your new goals.
1. Make specific goals. Don't just create a goal to get out of debt or to save money. Instead, do your homework to determine just how much money you think you can throw toward your debt or savings each month and set your goal to reflect the targeted dollar amount you want to pay down or save in 2021. You could even set shorter goals to achieve each quarter, month, or pay period if having an annual goal is too far off. Either way, be specific when making your goals.
2. Your goals should be measurable. If you know you want to pay down $12,000 of debt in 2021, that means that you should pay off $6,000 by mid-year, $3,000 each quarter, or $1,000 each month. You could even take it a step further and break your goal down by pay period. Breaking down your goal in bite-sized chunks helps keep you focused, but don't get discouraged if you don't quite meet your goal. Just keep going and tackle the next period with determination.
3. Your goals need to be something you genuinely want. Let's face it if the goal is not your goal; you will likely fail. Most of us can only get excited and determined to achieve something when we want it bad enough. So be sure to ask yourself a few tough questions to determine that this is indeed something you want for yourself and your family.
4. Write down your goals (and the steps you need to take to achieve them) and pin it up in your office, closet, or wherever you will see it regularly. Having that list up somewhere where you will see it often is a good motivator and helps keep you accountable.
5. Finally, be sure you keep track of your goals. Periodically, sit down and have a goals check-in meeting. Mark off the goals you achieved, but don't get discouraged if you didn't accomplish every goal. Life happens, and sometimes we are faced with challenges we could not foresee. Stay the course, and you will be on your way to meeting your goals in due time.
If you need help or want to bounce ideas off on a financial coach, feel free to book a complimentary consultation with me, I would be honored to walk alongside you as you set out to achieve your goals.
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