If you are like most people, you want things you don’t actively pursue. Getting in shape, learning a new skill, or building wealth all require consistent action. They are easy to think about but harder to put into motion.
Even when you know you want something and it will improve your life, it can be challenging to find the motivation to sustain you all the way to the finish line.
If you have ever struggled to meet a financial goal you set for yourself or your family, you’re in good company. Up to 92% of people who set New Year’s financial goals fail to achieve them.
It is all too easy to start saving for something excitedly… and then lose touch with your enthusiasm.
Smashing your mental piggy bank can be self-defeating. Especially regarding financial planning, it leads nowhere but off-course.
However, the good news is that this behavioral problem is usually fixable: The solution lies in better understanding how your behaviors can impact your personal finances, especially in relation to how successful (or not) you are, over time, in achieving your wealth goals.
The larger the goal, the more significant role it should play in your day-to-day as well as long-term planning and goal-setting efforts. The higher priority of the goal, the more focus, and diligence you should apply in your financial behaviors.
So how do you get from point A, creating a wealth goal, to point B, where you enjoy the benefits of your effort?
You need to anchor your financial goals into physical, tangible reality. When you have concrete goals tied to the idea of building wealth, it is easier to take the actions and create the habits that get you there.
For example, “I want $4,000,000 saved in my retirement accounts” feels general and potentially far away.
On the other hand, “I want to retire in X city in a house that I’ve paid off with X dollars a month in income—which will allow me to travel twice a year to see friends, family, and new places” ties in concrete details.
Having specific goals that you can measure will help you build a meaningful plan to put into action.
Whether your wealth goals are saving for a comfortable retirement, building an estate plan to pass your legacy to your family, or something else, the critical drivers are having an independent financial plan and investment strategy. These will serve as your roadmap towards pursuing your wealth goals and objectives.
Where to get started? Short-term goals. These objectives are typically achievable within five years or less.
For instance, paying off a credit card could become a short-term goal. Wealth building usually starts with eliminating debts, so this short-term goal could also be a step toward a long-term goal of building a retirement nest egg.
Generally speaking, anything that could take ten years or more to accomplish should be considered a long-term goal.
Get ambitious and dream big. With that said, oftentimes, as you work towards a long-term goal, life can get in the way so adjustments to your financial plan and investment strategy may be needed.
Effective plans need the flexibility to adjust to life events.
Beyond most short-term goals, but halfway to a long-term goal, you can establish medium-term objectives. These will often take longer than five years but less than 10 to reach.
As an example, once you have paid off that credit card debt, you can start saving to make a significant down payment on a new car (in order to have lower monthly installments).
Short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals can all be tied to experiences that are meaningful to you. So, consider linking every phase of your financial planning to an activity or item of your choosing.
Next, write each incentive down. Make their descriptions as detailed as you can.
For instance, in regard to the short-term credit card payoff goal, you might say, “I’m going to double my payment amount for the next six months to pay off my “X” card by the end of the year.
The more clearly you can see a goals-based plan’s completion, the more likely you are to successfully achieve them. That’s why our value-based planning and investing is one of our specialties at ViaWealth.
We recognize the importance of getting to know your motivations, intentions, and wealth goals. That helps us get a better understanding of your best life and the goals that drive it. It also highlights our best strategies and financial advice.
Even if someone walks into our office lacking the ability to fully articulate their innermost long-term goals, we can help uncover them.
We deploy codified, proven tools to help you understand how you relate to money and how your financial decisions impact your goals, both short and long-term. We help you define your own definition of wealth.
Once we know that, we can develop a financial plan and investment strategy that is unique to your financial journey.
At ViaWealth, we thrive on providing our clients with sound, easy-to-deploy financial plans and investment strategies tailored to your specific needs and goals. As fiduciaries, it is our legal obligation to put your financial interests ahead of our own. That is one of the most important of the advisory services offered.
However, we further commit to treating you in the same manner that we would like to be treated. So, our financial advisors rely on time-tested plans and processes combined with transparent investment techniques.
Let us help you and your family achieve meaningful goals. We can show you the value of financial planning—by devising step-by-step wealth management plans driven by your unique life goals.
Please reach out and contact us today.