Writing Down Financial Goals

At SmartLab, we’ve written about the Money Value of Time, but what about the value of writing down your financial goals?  It stands to reason that you can never achieve a goal you have not set, but so many people desire to find wealth without ever taking the time to set the financial goals to get them there.

For instance, last year I evaluated my budget and spending habits and penned a goal of saving a certain amount of money by a specific timeframe.  For months prior to writing down that goal, I thought regularly about what it would take financially to buy a home.  I continued spending money just the same and felt I was years away from being a homeowner.  It wasn’t until I sat down to face my reality and set some financial goals that I actually started to work toward accomplishing my goal for which the value I attached to it was a home.  And, guess what??  I am now a homeowner!  What kept me from setting an achievable goal was being intimidated by the unknown.  By writing down my main goal and the sub-goals along the way, I overcame the fear that was delaying my dream.  In retrospect it seems these fears were silly and a waste of time.

Whether you currently write down your goals, would like to find out how to set realistic goals, or are just interested in reading an informative article, Forbes published an article last year entitled “Why You Should be Writing Down Your Goals”  which could really motivate you to get started.  The article makes a clear case for goals, as a 1979 Harvard study of their MBA students revealed that writing down goals resulted in 1,000% greater earnings in 2014!  How about that fact for some added motivation?

Listed below are a sample of goals and the values that could apply to them.  How many of these have you visualized and are in common with your current or future goals?  What has kept or keeps you from saving for their reality?  Go ahead – jot down some of your own financial goals and the values you apply to them.  We’ve made it a little easier and included a template to print out and goal-the-heck out of.  And, remember, if you’d like to talk out your financial goals, we’re here for you too.