I’m so excited to be getting back into my routine and The Teacher’s Salary Series posts.
Click HERE to see links to some of my previous posts.
Yesterday, I posted about My 15 Goals for 2014. If you aren’t a goal-setter, perhaps you will consider giving it a try this year? Today is sort of a piggy-back on that topic of goal setting, but I’ll be talking a little more specifically about setting financial goals.
In case you missed yesterday’s post and don’t feel like clicking back, I included an entire category for financial goals. They are below:
13. Fully-fund our emergency fund
14. Save up to purchase some extra insurance this summer
15. Buy a new computer
These goals are realistic will keep us focused. I hope we are able to accomplish more than 3, but they are a good starting point. As the year unfolds, we certainly reserve the right to tweak them or add to them if we feel the need.
With all this talk of setting financial goals though, I thought it might be helpful to take a step back and think about the WHY? behind it. I don’t know about you, but unless I’m convinced something will be beneficial, I am not likely to try it. So with that in mind, here are my top 5 benefits to setting financial goals.
1. Creates unity and focus
If you are married, then goal-setting is a great way to create unity between you and your spouse. There’s something really profound about setting a financial goal together, working towards it together, and accomplishing it together that can do wonders for a marriage. Even if you experience some frustrating roadblocks along the way, you work as a team and become stronger for it.
Setting financial goals also creates focus. I don’t know about you, but concentrated effort has always resulted in quicker results for The Teacher and I. We tend to reach the results we hoped for much sooner when we make specific goals rather than just let each and every paycheck pass us by without a plan of how we are going to get to where we want to be.
2. Builds momentum as goals are achieved
Part of the reason I love to-do lists is that I love to be able to mark through a task when I have completed it. It’s motivating to be able to see the fruits of your labor and you will likely be more motivated to attack the next goal…and the next goal…and the next goal.
3. Helps you to re-focus
No plan is perfect. No one but God Almighty knows the future. When things happen that shake things up for your finances, your financial goals will help you to get back on track. Don’t spend too much time beating yourself up, but pick yourself up, dust yourself off and re-focus your efforts to reach your goal. Your financial goals can help remind you of where you are headed financially and can push you back in the right direction.
4. Aids in making other life decisions
One of the first questions The Teacher and I have had to ask ourselves when making decisions is, “How much is that going to cost?” When considering longer-term plans, think about how your decision might impact your financial goals (for the positive or negative). There is certainly no way to perfectly predict the financial impact of all life decisions, but financial goals will at least give you another lens through which to analyze during your decision-making process.
5. Creates a buffer between you and Mr. Murphy
Murphy’s Law typically states, “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” Just paying your monthly bills with no plan on how to get ahead in your future could be a recipe for disaster. Murphy will strike, but with some foresight and planning, hopefully you will be ready. Setting financial goals will help you get past the day-to-day of your bill paying and move towards building wealth for your future, even when tragedy strikes.
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