Achieving Financial Goal The Smart Way
Always have SMART goals, religiously follow them, keep track of your progress and improve them, if needed.
Have you ever thought of waking up one day not worrying about expenditures and free from having to work and, at the end of the day, not get the reward?
It’s been everyone’s dream to live high on the hog. There are people who want to live in style, while others just want it simple and to survive. The million-dollar question, though, is “How do we get there?”
We always hear the term “personal finance.” The term is quite common nowadays. In fact, it has inspired the publication of various “How To’s”, “Guides” and tips that sometimes deliver astonishing or promising results. However, many seem to miss the core principle of personal finance, which is the realization that it’s more a battle with oneself.
Amid the plethora of financial advice and planning for the future, the foundation that would serve as your base in achieving personal-financial success is knowing who you are and possessing the correct attitude.
Knowing who you are is a stage where you ruminate your short- and long-term goals and evaluate your view on money while demonstrating the right attitude, which is the behavioral aspect.
You can flush out every financial equation and thoroughly explain how the stock, money, foreign exchange, bond and derivative market work, but these won’t make you consistently wealthy. A solid foundation in handling money is of paramount importance.
You see, I use the phrase “consistently wealthy” for a reason. Given that we are now in the Information age, a lot of people know how to get there but the majority do not know how to keep, maintain or grow their wealth.
Frankly speaking, anyone can learn personal finance at his/her own pace, but the majority lacks the will, focus, perseverance and commitment to push through.
It is of utmost importance that you have a clear and concrete blueprint of what you want to achieve financially. Starting with your goals, being able to identify and set out clearly between your short-term and long-term goals is important. Short-term goals are the smaller parts of the bigger and lengthy goals broken down into manageable parts. It serves as the building blocks to your long-term goals. These have significant bearing toward your long-term goals. Without it, the large life-changing events are hard to imagine and this leads to a failure in reaching your long-term goal.
Long-term goal may be referred to as your supreme goal. It is an strategic target that requires time to achieve compared to your short-term goal. For instance, your short-term goal is to create an emergency fund and your long-term goal is to buy a house, without worrying about fortuitous events that could deeply affect your finances.
To sum up, bear in mind to establish an Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound Goal (SMART).
A goal without proper execution is useless. Attitude is about self-evaluation, questioning your will and acceptance to change. Are you firm enough to stand by your goals? Are you willing to take sacrifices? What is holding you back from taking actions? These are few questions you should start asking yourself. Words are nothing if not put into action. A good example is excessive use of credit cards and spending above your means.
To put it simply, let me ask you this question. Can you imagine yourself buying a house at the age of 30? This is one of the few long-term goals most Filipinos hope. Certain things need to be done to make this happen. This is not something that instantly grows in your backyard. You cannot just set, dream and talk about your goals. You need to roll up your sleeves, pack up your tools and start working on it. A system needs to be created within you.
Attending real-estate discussions and forums, improving relationship with banks and creating a budget that works, are a few of the activities that you need to embed in your system. In other words, you need to spend a great deal of time sticking to activities that relate to your goals. But these goals could fade into the twilight because of three common pitfalls:
Absence of a system. Failure to obtain essential habits.
Lack of patience. Does not appreciate results that go through a process, instead they go for instant.
Lackadaisical. Unable to combine working hard and working smart.
There is no such thing as the perfect formula or approach. Each and every individual is unique in managing his/her personal finances; however, keeping true to your goal, fully understanding the pit-falls will determine financial success.
Always have SMART goals, religiously follow them, keep track of your progress and improve them, if needed. Remember, your greatest enemy in achieving personal-financial success is no one but yourself.
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Earl Pagatpat, RFP, is a registered financial planner of RFP Philippines.
Source: http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/achieving-financial-goal-the-smart-way/
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