Over 2,000 years ago, Aristotle said “ First, have a definite, clear and practical ideal; a goal, an objective. Second, have the necessary means to achieve your ends: wisdom, money, materials and methods. Third, adjust all your means to that end.”
We all have dreams, goals, objectives but more often than not, we struggle with the means and adjusting those means – particularly when one of those means is money.
Without a plan in place to adjust your means, it’s all too easy to see your money eaten up by small expenses, nights out and the odd treat. On their own these may not seem like big purchases at the time, but they can quickly add up to make a dent in your ability to save.
Over the next three blog posts, we’ll give you some tips and tricks to help you get there starting with the motivation for saving. Here are three tips on how to set your financial goal:
Make your goal big
If you’re going to dream, why not dream big? We’re not going to lie, there are times when saving is hard so make sure it’s something that you really want to save for. We’ve all heard of S.M.A.R.T goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely) but don’t forget to include a little bit of magic to make it worth it.
Make your goal personal
When it comes to financial goals, having a lump sum in the bank is great but giving yourself a reason makes it real. When you know what you’re savings for, it can help reinforce your willpower and motivation.
Change your focus from just saving a number each week to “getting debt free” or “holiday to Bali – travelling business class”. The more real and important you can make it, the better.
Write your goal down
According to a Dominican University of California study, people who wrote their goals down and did weekly updates were more likely to achieve them then those who kept their goals to themselves.
Writing your goals down makes them real and is the easiest thing you can do to get yourself started. Not into writing? No problem. Why not make a dream board to visualise what you want to achieve? Whether you chose words or pictures, stating a goal and visualising the end result can be a huge motivator.
Use simple tools to bring your goals to life – whether it’s your dream house, the trip of a lifetime or the latest iPhone – will help set you up with the motivation you need to start saving. In the next post, we’ll show you to start to form up your budget to get you there.