Posts Tagged ‘Goals’

Goals are good…

January 21st, 2011 Vijaianand

Dawn of every new year brings more talks about Self discipline, Self improvements using different methodologies. It is good to think about self improvement atleast once year if you don’t concentrate more during the year. I believe every New year adds a brand new page in our lives giving us opportunities to either work on our new dreams or continue to stay on course with our current goals.

It is a good thing to think about resolutions and goals at the start of the year so you can try to accomplish them to end the year in a good note.

Goals are good compared to resolutions as per many experts because resolutions have tendency to erode and lose the importance as the days go on. As per some survey, 50% resolutions are been broken within a week and many break all their resolutions less than 3 months.. The reason, resolutions don’t have definite plan of action. On the other hand, goals work differently. It can be broken down to smaller milestones and  plans can be drafted which can be follow through with actions. I know, it is easier said then done.

I read an article in Costco Connections about a book named, “Succeed: How we can reach our goals?”. The author talks about people behavior and how many can reach their goals and not other. She says others can also do the same by building their “Self control muscle“.  One reason she mentions that people think they don’t have the inbuilt ability to do so compared to others who succeed. That is wrong. She says, not everybody is born smart but smartness can be achieved overtime with great perseverance. Another book named “Talent is Overrated: What seperates word class performers and others“ also proves that fact. She suggest motivating kids by saying you are smart might be good compliment but encouraging their perseverance and effort goes a long way.

She continues to say that many don’t success because they don’t have plan or follow through action for their goals and suggest to use her “If-then” method. If I get $100 more than last month, I will put in savings. It seem to have worked for her. If it’s monday and wednesday, I will work out. It might seem like kids home work but that’s basis and works well. To read the full article, visit costcoconnection.com

Everyone is different. What I do is, I usually categorize the goals as Personal, Financial, and Family goals. I prioritize them and jot them in a big white board in my study room so I can see them every day. I draft plan for one goal at a time and follow through by taking action. That’s about it. 

Small amount of time spent on everyday on one or multiple goals can surely take to your destination. Example, I wanted to be a CFP(Certified Financial Planner) and made it as a goal in 2008. I planned one step at time. I completed the course in 2010, took the exam and completed CFP exam 2010 end. Currently, I am working to get some experience so I can be a CFP?. I don’t have finance background but I am just determined to get a CFP?. That’s my goal and I am working towards it.

Don’t give “NO TIME” as silly excuse. Everyone only got 24 hours a day and 12 hours to actually do something productive. If you don’t find time to all, concentrate atleast one or two important things so you can say at the end of this year, you have something to write in your life book. To make this year a good one or better is in your hands, start something this month and plan to follow through.

All the best…

PS: Thanks to mymoneyblog.com author Jonathan who shared about “Talent is Overrated” book.

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Be your own Financial Planner

January 29th, 2009 Vijaianand

In my last post, we saw how Goal Setting works better than Resolutions. I also promised to show, how Goal Setting Techniques works better in achieveing your financial dream. Let’s start with a quick check on your stand with money and move on setting some new goals, draft realistic plans and try to reach them by taking some action to make this year a fruitful one. 

Self assess yourself by answering these 3 questions below and figure out where you are in regard to financial planning.  Say “YES” if you have an answer or NO if you don’t have an answer or don’t know anything about the question.

Do you any personal financial goal like buying a new car or home? 
Do you have a Budget in place to track all your income and expenses?
Do you have a Savings Plans to grow your money?

If you said “Yes” to all of these questions, you are really way ahead of many people. If you said “No” to all them, its better you start thinking about them, now as it’s the right time.

Set/Revisit your Goals
When comes to selecting and Setting goals, Try to set SMART goals. These are goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Trackable. For example, you may want to create an emergency fund in six months to have 3-6 months worth of your salary.


Allot a specific time. Sit down with a pen and paper or your computer. Start listing your goals, dividing them into three categories: short term, medium term, and long term.

• Short-term goals might include buying a new computer, or paying off credit card debt.

• Medium-term goals could be purchasing a car or going back to school.

• Long-term goals might be to buy a home, saving for your kids education or retire with enough money to live comfortably.

At the end, make sure you prioritize the list. Which ones are the most important to you? Which ones can wait? 


Define a Plan
People don’t plan to fail, they usually fail to plan. If you want to go to a place, you better know your directions, otherwise you are sure to get lost. It is as simple as that. Similarly, if you have set your goals, you better work on a clear and concise plan to reach them. Let’s define a plan by taking a simple goal.

The goal is to buy a home in 3 years with 20% down payment. That’s a SMART goal but to get you there you better draft a sound plan. In this case, you need to know things like:

Target Amount: Amount needed for the goal using today’s dollars. If your goal is to make a 20 percent down payment on a home valued at $100,000 today, you would need $20,000 for the down payment.

Target Dates: Enter the year or date when you want to reach your goal, say 2011.

Start out Amount: If you have $10,000 saved in a money market account, you may decide to allocate half of it to the down payment. In this case, you would write $5,000 under Current Assets.

Gap: Indicate the gap between the cost of each goal and the assets you have allocated, in our example $15,000.

Number of Years to Target Date: Enter the number of years between now and your target date, which is 3 years.

Amount to Be Saved Each Year: Divide the difference by the number of years to the target date. That amount you need to save each year to reach your goal is $5,000 a year.


Coming up with $5,000 for a year might be a tough deal. Try to split it monthly. You can then start a savings plan to save around $420 per month to get to $5,000 a year. The next and important step in the financial planning is executing the plan.


Ready, Set and Go: Take Action

“Wisdom is knowing what to do next; virtue is doing it,” said David Starr Jordan.

Making up goals and plans is just 20% of the challenge; executing them is 80%. In our example, you have the goal and plan to be ready to buy a house in 3 years with a 20% down payment.

How are you going to implement the plan if your financial situation is already tight? The first step is to analyze your current income and expenses to see where your money is going and what can you scale back. Start a simple budget to track your income and expenses, going after expenses which can be easily cut without affecting your lifestyle to achieve your monthly savings goal. Open a savings account or an add-on CD to put away a fixed amount every month. Or setup an automatic debit from your checking account to this savings account. This way you don’t have to do it manually.

Finally stick to the plan rain or shine and you are sure to reap its rewards. 

Posted in Education, Financial Literacy, Financial Planning, money really matters Tags: , , No Comments »
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