How to Make Your Financial Goals a Reality!

J. C. Penney once said, “Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I will give you a man who will make history.  Give me a man without a goal, and I will give you a stock clerk.” Studies have shown that commitment to a written goal is three times higher than just thinking about your goals.

If nothing changed in your financial situation over the next 3-5 years, would that be OK? If you don’t do anything different, should you expect anything better?   If you answered no, then keep reading to see how you can start setting financial goals and then begin to make them a reality.

Most people want to create a better situation for themselves and their families.  Most people realize the importance of a budget and a clear plan, but tend to put it off until next month or worse, next year.  Dan Miller writes, “There is something magical that happens when you write down your goals.”  Written goals and plans are a roadmap to success.  You need to know what your goals are and why you want to achieve these goals. 

Goals are not written in concrete and unchangeable terms but they do give you a starting point and a destination.  You must start somewhere and move forward.  Goals give your life purpose, meaning, and a time frame for when you want to achieve them.

How to set financial goals:

1.       Start the process by thinking long term (5-10 years from now) and working backwards for what you want to accomplish this year, and then next month.      

2.       Be specific and put them on paper.  Then create benchmarks to track your deposits of success.   “No deposits, no returns.” 

3.       Develop a monthly budget.  This is one way to see if you are moving toward your long term goals or away from your goals.

4.       Know why you want to achieve these goals.  When you have a clear and strong enough “why”, you can figure out the “how.”

5.       Set your goals and follow through.  If you are married, plan your financial goals together and prepare for action as a couple.  Les Brown once said, “You don’t have to be great to get started but you have to get started to be great.”

6.       Plan for opposition.  For every great window of opportunity, there is a door of discouragement.

7.       Be passionate about your job or make plans to move toward a job you can be passionate about.

8.       Read.  The average millionaire reads at least one non-fiction book a month.  Always nurture your potential.   Your success, financial and otherwise, will never far exceed your personal development.  However, knowledge is not enough.  You need planning, action, accountability, and reevaluation.

9.       Do not wait for ideal circumstances to start. They never come. 

10.   Never limit yourself by not looking for the real opportunities available to us.

Success is not a future event- it is the progressive realization of worthwhile goals.   Success should never be just in career or financial areas.  While you are working on your financial goals, spend a little more time working on the rest of the areas in your life (physical, mental, social, family, and spiritual.) Athletes do not win races and teams do not win championships without specific goals defined in advance.  

If you want a free 8 page copy of The Power of Goals, email me at ed@finnertyfinancialcoaching.com.   It just might change your life. Together, let us make 2009 an incredible year!   I leave you with this last quote:   “Make no small plans; they have no magic to stir men’s souls,” by Daniel Burnam.  Together, let’s make 2009 our best year ever. 

Ed Finnerty