How To Make Goals Work For You

Write Down Your Goals

Find a spot to relax, grab a pen and paper and write down what you would like to achieve in life. Start by just jotting down everything that comes into your mind. Let your mind wonder and think about your deepest desires.

You might like to use the Money Detectives Goals Planner which is template you can compete to get you started on thinking about your goals.

CLUE: you might like to work out your own personal goals first and then share them with your partner / family.

Try and Group Your Goals into Common Categories

CLUE:

• Family Goals - some clues on this category listed below:
  
  • Think about what you would like to do with your family
  • Do you want to get engaged / married / divorced?
  • Do you want to have children? How many?
  • Are there any family traditions you would like to include?
• Home Goals - some clues on this category listed below:
  
  • Where you would like to live?
  • Do you want to own your own home / rent?
  • Would you like to build your own home / renovate?
  • Do you want to move? Sea change / tree change?
  • Do you want additional features on your home /pool / deck / shed?
• Career Goals - some clues on this category listed below:
  
  • Where do you see yourself working?
  • What position?
  • What salary?
  • Do you want to be your own boss / work from home?
  • Do you want to study? Which subjects and courses?
• Financial Goals - some clues on this category listed below:
  
  • Would you like to get out of debt?
  • What would you like to save for; your own home / holiday / car / wedding?
  • What money goals do you have?
  • When would you like to retire?
  • How much would you like to retire on?
  • What type of investments would you like to hold?
  • Would you like to leave an inheritance for your children?
• Travel Aspirations - some clues on this category listed below:
  
  • What places do you want to visit?
  • What experiences would you like to have; parachuting / bungee jumping / sipping cocktail on a beach?
  • How would you like to travel; plane / train / boat?
  • Who would you like to meet; Queen / family / friends?
• Health Goals - some clues on this category listed below:
  
  • Loose weight? How much?
  • Get fit?
  • Join a sports club / team?
  • Eat a balanced diet?
  • Become a vegetarian?
• Benevolent and Charity Aspirations - some clues on this category listed below:
  
  • How much money would you like to give to charity?
  • What time would you like to devote to charity?
  • What charities would you like to support?
  • Would you like to leave money to a charity in your will?
• Spiritual and Ethical Goals - some clues on this category listed below:
  
  • Would you like to attend a church / mosque / temple?
  • What are your core ethical values?
  • What values do you want to teach your children?
  • How do you worship your God / idol?
• Social and Cultural Goals - some clues on this category listed below:
  
  • How much time would you like to devote to your friends?
  • What social outlets would you like to be a part of; dancing studio / theatre group / bushwalking club?
  • What cultural activities would you like to attend; opera / ballet / sporting events?
  • What cultural activities do you want your children to be a part of; music classes / language classes?

Rate The Level of Importance of Each Goal

You might like to use the following rating system:

• Very High Priority
• High Priority
• Medium Priority
• Low Priority
• Very Low Priority

Set a Time Frame as to When you Would Like to Achieve These Goals

You might like to use the following time frames:

• Less than 3 months
• 3 months
• 6 months
• 12 months
• 2 years
• 3 years
• 5 years
• 10 years
• 10+ years

Use Money Detectives Goals Planner to summarise your goals into one document.

Make A Commitment To Your Goals

CLUES: on how to commit to your goals:

• Put a copy of your goal list on your fridge, bathroom mirror or toilet door to remind yourself regularly of your commitment.
• Sign a copy of your goal list.
• Give a copy of your goal list to someone who can keep you accountable to your commitment.
• Set a regular time to review your goals. This might be monthly, quarterly etc.

Actioning Your Goals

To make your goals a reality, you now need to spend time breaking each goal into action steps or smaller goals. You might like to start with your high priority goals first and then work on your lower priority ones later.

Actioning your goals will also involve undertaking research on the costs to put these in place and how this will impact on your budget.

Please use the Money Detectives Goals Tracker which can help you break down your goals, establish costs and a work out a timeframe for all of your goals.

Add Your Goals to the Budget

Some goals will have an impact on your budget and therefore needs to be included in your finances. Once you have done your research on costs and you know your timeframe, you can start to allocate funds to your goals.

You might like to set up a separate account for this savings or create a spreadsheet to account for this. By keeping your savings separate, it means you are less tempted to spend the money on other items. To track your savings progress you can use the Money Detectives Savings Tracker.

Adjusting Your Budget If Your Goals Don’t Work

If your budget doesn’t have room for your goals, you will need to assess your priorities, look at your options and try to make room for this.

To learn all of the tips and tricks relating to Budgeting and Savings please visit these sections of our website. We also have a comprehensive collection of Budgeting and Saving Tips that can help you trim your expenses which could provide extra money for your goals.

It all comes down to priorities. What are you willing to sacrifice today to allow you to fulfil your dreams in the future?

Review Your Goals

Make a regular time to review your goals and update or create new tasks / actions. You can do this on Money Detectives Goals Tracker. Your situation, goals and priorities may change and therefore these documents need to be flexible to account for this.

In addition you may find that some of your goals, may not be realistic at this stage given your budget and or other priorities. You may like to extend timeframes or look to cut other goals to make this work for you.

Celebrate Your Successes

When you hit a goal, celebrate your success by giving yourself a treat or a reward. You might like to take the family out for dinner, have a drink with your mates or indulge in chocolate mudcake.