Get Rid of Debt by Edna Ferman - HTML preview

SET YOUR GOALS

e all have financial goals and dreams, no matter how old we are or what stage of life planning we are in. Some common financial planning goals include college, buying a new home, purchasing a car, planning for retirement or just building cash reserves. Individuals who properly set financial goals are significantly more likely to achieve them over the course of their lifetimes.

To begin the process, take time to write down a list of your financial goals. Initially, create a comprehensive list without applying too many personal filters during the process. Once you have completed your list, go back through and clearly define each goal.

For example, “ I would like to retire early,” is not a goal. You must get more specific. Instead, make it, “I would like to retire at age 55 with an annual income of $65,000 per year.” This is a goal since it has both a defined timeframe and dollar amount associated with it.

• Set goals to encourage yourself to keep on persevering with your savings plan. Your goals will help you to be in control at all times.
• Set goals for future holidays, purchases or other major expenses.
• Set big goals that define where you would like to be in the future.
• Work toward big goals that will improve your quality of life.
• Plan and save for your future, for your retirement. As little as $20 a week in savings can quickly add up to a nice amount over time.

You should now have a list of well-defined financial goals. Unfortunately, not all of these goals will make the cut. In other words, not every one of the goals will be of utmost importance to you. To determine which financials goals are the most important, apply the acid test. In order for a goal to remain on your priority list, you must be willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish the goal; this is the acid test.

For example, to remain on track for a particular goal, you might need to cut expenses in order to save more money. If you are unwilling to do whatever it takes to reach a goal, remove it from your list.

Now that you have created a complete list of goals which all pass the acid test, work through the list and place the goals in order of importance. While you may be able to focus your savings efforts on multiple financial goals, it is important to determine which goals are the most important to you.