Creating fulfilling financial goals goes far beyond saying, ” I want to pay off debt.” Or I want to build up my retirement. This year I’ve been diving deeper into the reasons why I’ve been setting particular financial goals and getting clear on the true “why” behind them. I no longer have a desire to declare a blanket statement and say that’s one of my financial goals. When I make a statement behind what I want to do with my money, I want that statement to be covered truth, passion, and knowledge.
As a result, a lot of my financial goals have changed for the year 2020. When I look back at what my financial goals were when I first started living Broke on Purpose® to what they are now, it’s incredible to see the mindset shift that has taken place within. I started off wanting to be 100% debt-free, and while that will probably always be the overarching goal, it’s no longer my number one priority. I’m now thinking of how I can live comfortably once I reach retirement age (which means playing with compounding calculators) and, in the meantime, what needs to happen for me to open this coffeehouse and plant shop that constantly invade my daydreams.
One of the most important keys to creating financial goals that can lead you to live a more fulfilling life is to know where you’re going and what you want out of life. Setting financial goals that motivate, excite you, and push you forward can help you get the most out of your relationship with money and experience a life that is worth living. Or, as I like to call it a life with options.
When you are clear on what you value and what you truly desire, you’ll discover that you’re goals won’t look like anyone else’s. They may start with the same foundation, such as getting out of debt, but the house built from that foundation will be vastly different.
Here’s how to do it.
To create your fulfilling financial goals, start by grabbing a piece of paper and writing down everything you want to do in your life. Write out your goals and your dreams. Don’t get caught up in the particulars or the nuances. Just get it all out on paper, you can go back and edit later.
As you’re writing, think about the things that frustrate you with your finances. What would you love to see changed? What positive things would you like to see magnified? Do you want to be a homeowner? Do you want to own multiple homes? Perhaps you want to be able to help out family members if needed or give back to the community regularly. Think about what you would do with your life if money weren’t an obstacle. Ask yourself what genuinely makes you happy and how you can keep that happiness as a permanent part of your life.
If you’ve been writing unhindered, you should have a pretty sizeable list of goals. Next, take that list and began to put those goals in order of priority. What are the things most important to you now? When you look at that list, which goals fill you with excitement and joy. Which one makes you smile when you think about seeing it come to fruition?
Now that you have that list in order, start to think about the resources you will need to put in place to see them come to fruition. Think about the challenges you might face. How are you going to handle obstacles that get in the way?
This step is essential. By knowing what you need to do to see your goals through, you’re giving yourself a fighting chance at succeeding. You’ll be able to filter out all the noise and advice of what others and focus on your results and your plan.
From the list of resources, you can begin to create your plan of action. This plan is your roadmap or GPS. It keeps you from turning down the road of comparison and letting that comparison be the thief of your joy. Although you’ll see others with similar goals as yourself succeeding or moving at a quicker pace than you are, you won’t let that deter you because your goals are aligned specifically to your life. Remember, their time is not our time.
Revisit your financial goals every quarter to make sure that your actions are in line with the goals that you’ve set for your life. You never want to be working towards a financial goal because someone else said that you should, or the powers of social media influenced you. Your goals should be true to you and the life you can see yourself living as a result of them being achieved. As time goes on, you may find that some goals that were a high priority are no longer as relevant to you. Pivoting is normal and often very necessary.
Read: The Financial Pivot and Switch
By following the steps listed above, you can create fulfilling financial goals.
Need further help with creating financial goals? Grab the 60+ page Ebook/Workbook that will help you outline a strategy and come up with a solid plan on how to set Financially Achievable goals!
