Ultimate Guide to Reach Your Financial Goals

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 Are you ready to finally learn how to make a plan to reach your financial goals?  Do you want to become debt free? What about buying your first home? Or retiring with a nice sized nest egg?

Wanting these things out of life is not uncommon, but the problem is that most people who are in a financial rut want these things just never achieve them.

They set their minds to make them happen, but ultimately quit trying, get discouraged because they are not seeing progress, or just don’t have a clue where to start.

The key to achieving the things you want out of life both financially and personally is to set clear and achievable goals. If you don’t, then you are setting yourself up for failure.

Setting goals, both short and long-term, as well as writing them down and visualizing them can be a very powerful tool for reaching your dreams.

Read this article on a study that was done on some Harvard students to see the real power of goal setting.  This study is a real eye-opener on the power of goal setting and what you can achieve.

The ability to set and achieve goals is one of the most important, if not the most important, factor in your ability to succeed.

Strategies to Reach Your Financial Goals

Set Achievable Financial Goals

I’m sure you have read stories of people who start a business and are a millionaire within a few short years. Or people who have been able to pay off $50,000 in debt in 6 months.

Although these stories are inspiring, they may or may not be realistic for you at this point.

Instead, you should be setting a goal to start a business that will grow over time and provide a comfortable income for you and your family.

And instead of paying off all your debt within one year, you should be focusing on knocking $15,000 off your debt this year.  

Now I am not saying that you cannot do what others have done in a short amount of time. There are other circumstances that you need to consider here.

For instance, it is very difficult to throw every single penny at your debt if you have a young family. You need to prepare for emergency room visits for ear infections and nasty colds. It is also very difficult to start a business of your when your credit is not in decent shape. See what I’m saying? There are actionable steps that you need to take to get ready to achieve those goals.

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Prioritize Your Goals

I have tons of goals that I would love to accomplish. But there is no way I can concentrate on all of them at the same time. I would be so scattered that I don’t think I would be able to achieve even one goal.

Instead of setting 20 different goals, narrow your focus to just a few at a time.  Devote all your efforts to achieving those goals. Once you have achieved one then you can replace it with another.

Set Short Term Goals

Break up your long-term goals into shorter and more manageable goals. What can you do this month, in the next 6 months or this year that will bring you closer to reaching that ultimate goal?

Let’s use paying off debt as an example, so let’s say you have $50,000 in debt and your goal is to pay it off in 5 years. You should be concentrating on how to save and earn an extra $850 a month to reach your goal of paying off debt.

Breaking it down into monthly goals helps to keep you motivated because you are accomplishing what you set out to achieve. Every month is a win and this will keep you going to reaching your long-term goals.

Related posts to help you reach your financial goals

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How to plan for unexpected expenses to avoid budgeting your budget

Managing money like a pro – 21 money management skills we all need to master

How to stop spending money – 14 tips to stop overspending for good

Emergency savings 101 – Everything you need to know to avoid financial disaster

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5 Bad financial habits you must break

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10 Financial habits you need to start doing today

Why young families need a financial plan and what to include

Make a Plan

Now that you have your shorter more manageable goals in place, it’s time to make a plan on how you are going to achieve these goals. I’ll stick with the example above, so we already determined that you will need around $850 a month to reach your ultimate goal of paying off $50,000 of debt.

So now you need a plan on how you are going to save or earn $850. Write down some actionable steps on how you plan to make that happen.  Are you going to start a side hustle to bring in extra income? Maybe you can meal plan to cut your grocery budget by a few hundred dollars a month or give up some luxuries to cut out expenses.

You actionable goals are what you need to be concentrating on to reach your monthly goals and ultimately, your overall financial goals. Doesn’t this seem easier to do then “pay off $50,000 of debt”?

Create Accountability

Tell others about your goals. You don’t need to tell everyone you know unless you want to of course. It’s best that can choose someone who will encourage you along the way to reach your financial goals.

This person should be someone that will encourage you because they have your best interest in mind. They should be able to be honest with you and remind you of what you are trying to accomplish if you start to stray.

How do you plan to achieve your financial goals? Please leave a comment.