Hopefully we would be in agreement that the general principle of having goals and something to move towards with purpose is a good idea.
Often when it comes to finances, life or business it can be hard to think about the long term – it can often seem too far away and there are too many variables to have sufficient clarity of thought and the bigger picture.
That is really the purpose of the financial modelling work that we undertake to try and help map that out from a financial perspective as best as we can with the information we know based upon some reasonable assumptions.
But what is much easier to do is to think about what we would like to achieve in shorter time periods. We have a more accurate understanding of what is realistic and what is important.
From personal experience I have found that 3 years is a good timescale to consider – short enough that you can picture it but long enough that you have actually got some time to think about it and take action.
I have been increasingly using this with clients, both new and existing to help us understand their goals and ensuring that they consider the short term as well as the bigger picture of their lifetime that we are modelling.
Again to simplify this you can consider what your goals are in 4 different areas:
- Work/Career
- Home/Family
- Experiences
- Objects
Why not give it a go, get something down in writing and put it somewhere you will see it regularly (the fridge, as a note in your phone, on your work desk) to remind you to take action. And if you feel like you want or need an accountability partner, send them to me.