Before you get too much in depth in financial planning, it's time for the BEST part--writing your goals!
I know what you're thinking: "are you kidding me?! FUN?!?" Trust me.
This is when you can write down all the hopes and dreams you have for your life. Do you want, say, a big home on a five-acre lot? Write it down! Or maybe you aspire to own a Land Rover? Write that down too! How about serving a mission in your older years? Or taking a family trip to Europe? How about read a new book every month? These are all things that you should write down as a family.
CHALLENGE: WRITE A LIST OF FAMILY GOALS.
Here's how:
- Choose your categories. Examples: Education, travel, hobbies, health, family, church, home, recreation, etc.
- Write short-, medium-, and long-term goals within each category. Short-term = One year or less. Medium-term = One to Ten years. Long-term = Ten or more years.
- When writing goals, remember to make them SMART:
- Specific. Not specific: "I want to get in shape." Specific: "I want to run the Boston Marathon this summer."
- Measurable. It's harder to achieve a goal if you can't measure it and track your progress.
- Achievable. I'm not saying don't dream big, but don't write down "buy a leer jet" unless you really think it's something that you can actually do someday.
- Realistic. Do you dream of flying to the moon? Nice dream, but as it looks now, it might not be a feasible goal. If some of your goals aren't realistic, you'll have a hard time taking yourself seriously when it comes to other, more feasible goals.
- Time-bound. You're much more likely to accomplish a goal if you set a specific date by which you want to have it accomplished.
- Review your goals often. Even if you go through all the trouble of writing down your goals, you likely wont' accomplish them if you don't review them often. Perhaps in your weekly finance meeting with your spouse, the two of you can discuss your progress toward your goals.
Why is goal-setting important when we're talking financial management?
If you already know what you want to get out of life (i.e. goals), it's much easier to cut out anything that slows you down.
