The best way to achieve your financial goals is to set several small goals rather than one big one.  Large goals are often overwhelming and therefore too difficult to achieve.  Smaller goals, implemented over time, usually have higher success rates.  Many people set goals that are too broad and often hard to keep because they’re not specific enough.  Many people will say that they want to save or invest more money and look for ways to achieve this goal.

Goals define our purpose and meaning in life.  They represent what we do, who we want to be, and to what we are emotionally committed.  Because your personality and your values play such an important role in determining your goals, you profit from knowing more about yourself and what you value most.

The best way to accomplish a goal is to follow three principles of goal setting.  First, be realistic about what you can achieve.  Break your goal into several smaller steps.  Second, practice small changes in your behavior to assure that you break old habits and create new desirable behaviors that will help achieve the goal.  Third, have a clear idea of the rewards that you are looking to achieve and monitor your progress.

Planning and setting goals doesn’t come easy.  It requires discovering what is most important to us and that is often challenging.  Those people who learn how to set and achieve goals usually experience less emotional stress, a greater sense of well-being, more peace of mind, and better physical health than those who don’t make the commitment to setting and achieving their goals.

Here are some simple steps to follow which will help with your success:

1.     Become aware of what goals are most important to you.  What do you most want to achieve with your money?  Make a list and rank in order the goals, from most to least important.

2.     Determine how realistic it is that you will be able to reach those goals.  Categorize them as very likely; somewhat likely; and unlikely.  Delete all of the unlikely goals.  Trying to achieve these will only lead to frustration and a feeling of failure.

3.     Put a time frame around your goals.  What goals come first, and by what date do you want to achieve them?  Write them in your calendar to help keep track of the dates.

4.     Work on your expectations of success.  Next to each goal, write down any barriers that you can think of—even your habits that might get in the way.

5.     Finally, write down all of the people who will be involved in each goal.   They may be family members, friends, trusted advisers or people who can be of assistance if you seek their help.  That could even include someone like myself.

I’d be interested in learning what’s important to you, and if I can be of any assistance to helping you with any of your money-related issues.  I will do my best to answer your questions. I’ll listen to what you have to say and offer my opinion.

You may contact me by email or U.S. Mail at the addresses listed below.  Our correspondence will always remain confidential.