Long-term goals aren’t easy to achieve. But why?
Could it be that motivation wanes over time? Perhaps external circumstances change. Maybe it has to do with the feasibility of the goals.
Many people have trouble sticking to something over the course of a single year let alone several years or decades.
Perhaps that’s why long-term goals – like most financial goals – are so difficult to achieve.
How do we fight against whatever it is that holds us back from achieving these financial goals? Is it possible to win?
Yes. It is.
Today I’d like to share with you some ways you can achieve your long-term financial goals. I won’t claim it will be easy, but it will be worthwhile.
So whether you need to pay off debt, build an emergency fund, save for your kids’ college education, or invest for retirement, here are some ways you can make it hap’n, cap’n.
1. Capture your long-term goals in your to-do list.
Long-term goals of the financial sort are usually more like projects than individual tasks.
For example, if you want to pay off your debt, chances are that you don’t just have one credit card to pay off – you might have three credit cards, a vehicle loan, and a student loan to overcome (if not more).
“Pay off debt” would be the project. “Pay off Visa #1” would be the task.
The truth is that without writing down your projects and tasks within a task management system of some type, you’re much less likely to accomplish your long-term goals.
There’s just something about seeing your long-term goals on paper (or on a screen) that makes them real. The very act of writing them down is a type of commitment.
Give it a whirl. Write down your long-term financial goals and review them on a regular basis.
2. Don’t bury your long-term goals.
It’s not enough to write down your long-term financial goals. Additionally, you need to make them readily available to your eye.
One idea that I’ve found works well is to write down your goals on a whiteboard where you can’t help but see them. But that’s not for everybody.
The point is that you need to find a way to see your long-term goals in the context of all your other goals (namely, your short-term goals). If only your short-term, urgent goals are displayed for you to see, you’ll tend to focus on those instead of kicking butt on your long-term goals.
Don’t bury your long-term goals. They’re important too!
3. Dedicate certain days of the week to long-term goals.
One helpful tip I derived from Strategic Coach was to dedicate certain days of the week to certain goals. This has proved to be very helpful in my own life, and I believe it will in yours, too.
For example, you could dedicate a certain day of the week to managing your finances and brainstorming ways to improve your financial future. Perhaps you have a day off of work that would work best for you.
Now, I can hear you saying, “Oh Jeff, if I only had a day for such tasks – I’m way too busy with other stuff!” That’s fair.
But here’s the thing, you don’t just have to make this day about finances – you can make it about your other long-term goals too. Add in health, family, and other areas of responsibility. Consider this day (or these days) of the week to be all about bettering yourself and your life. Can’t you make time for that?
4. Prioritize your long-term goals properly.
When it comes to long-term financial goals, you need to properly prioritize them. There are some preliminary goals that should only take you less than a month, like setting up a budget and cutting expenses, but we’ll leave that for another article.
What are some common long-term financial goals and in which order should you complete them? Generally, I recommend you complete the following long-term financial goals in the order they are displayed below:
Build Your Emergency Fund
Think of your emergency fund as the foundation of your financial future. Without some liquid money, you’re going to be out of luck when financial disaster strikes. Believe me, they happen.
Your car engine might explode. Your kneecap might explode (ouch). Your water heater might explode. There are so many things that can explode . . . and it’s not easy to just walk away from those explosions while keeping your cool. It’s stressful!
But you know what would make those situations a little less stressful? You guessed it: an emergency fund baby!
Wipe Out Your Debt
Once you have your foundation in place, it’s time to knock out that debt. This can take several years or a few months – it depends on how much debt you have and how quickly you can shovel money at it.
Write down all of your debts and attack them one by one. It’s easier that way.
Start Investing for Retirement
Now it’s time to start investing for your latter years. Why? It’s possible that your earning potential can go down when you’re physically unable to work. Who knows, you might have a self-sustaining business upon reaching retirement age, but don’t count on it. Invest for the future!
Helping people retire well is what I do. Work with me and let’s see what we can do together!
Start Saving for Other Long-Term Goals
This might include saving for your kids’ college education, purchasing a new vehicle, saving for a home renovation, or another goal that will take some time.
By prioritizing your long-term goals in the proper way, you can ensure that should you experience a slump in income, you aren’t wiped out due to a lack of financial planning.
5. Discover and focus on your motivations.
I’m convinced that one of the main reasons people don’t accomplish their long-term goals is because they really haven’t discovered their motivations.
For example, everyone knows it’s a good idea to pay off debt. It’s a financial goal that’s been embedded in our minds by countless financial advisors. But unless you discover your motivation for paying off debt, chances are you’ll give up before you achieve your goal.
In fact, if you’re paying off debt for the sake of paying off debt, you might as well give up now. You’re not going to be motivated enough to get the job done.
Instead, focus on some common motivations that can become your motivations. Here are some great reasons why people want to pay off debt:
- To not have to pay interest on their purchases
- To free up money for vacations
- To free up money for investing for retirement
- To not have to worry about those bills
- To reduce the amount of stress in their lives
- To free up the time it takes managing debt to focus on family
These are just a few of the motivations of others. What’s your motivation?
Assign a motivation for every long-term goal you have. Otherwise, you’re just trying to accomplish your long-term goals for the sake of accomplishing them – that’s not a real motivating factor if you ask me!
Long-Term goal examples
Knowing I’m not the only goal-setting freak that exists in this world, I asked fans from the Good Financial Cents Facebook page what their long-term goals (big shout to the Fincon community for contributing, too!).
Here’s a great list of examples of long-term goals:
What are your long-term financial goals?
Posted by Good Financial Cents on Monday, November 2, 2015
Here’s your homework
I want you to implement at least one of these strategies for reaching your long-term goals over the next year. When the year is over, write me. Tell me how well the strategy worked out for you. I want you to put your heart and soul into one or more of these strategies.
Why? I want you to see success.
Make it hap’n, cap’n!
Need some more long-term goals? Check out The Top 10 Good Financial Goals That Everyone Should Have. If you’re a baby boomer, check out 5 Financial Goals for Baby Boomers.
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