We are already well into the year, but have you stopped to think about your financial goals for 2022? If you haven’t yet, now is a great chance to start afresh and set some intentions for the year ahead.
The trick to being successful? Set yourself measurable and easily achievable goals. As you become more confident with hitting your targets you can challenge yourself with more ambitious goals. Consider having a theme or word for the year that acts as a guide for the months ahead, (such as 'abundance', ‘financially free', 'save', ‘frugal and free'). These words and phrases carry with them a way of being and can work as motivation without being too overwhelming.
Setting goals helps to keep us motivated and is an important step to living a richer and more fulfilling life. Here are a few tips to help your financial goals become a reality:
- Overwhelm is a major cause of giving up, don’t put yourself under too much pressure. Prioritise to help narrow your focus.
- Decide what is important to you in your life at the moment. Is building your savings a priority or is it paying off debt? Perhaps it is asking for a pay rise or a promotion. Maybe you are working toward finding an alternative or additional income stream or a new job.
- Does a single word or phase cover these goals?
- Work out three financial goals for the year based on what will be the most rewarding and result in more joy for you.
- You can always set yourself more goals once these are achieved. Perhaps have a ‘b-sides’ list to follow up down the track.
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Establish S.M.A.R.T. goals and add details to help ensure success:
- Specific: what are the details of your goal?
- Measurable: how will you know when you have reached it?
- Attainable: what do you need to make it happen?
- Realistic: are you willing and able to achieve this, is it actually possible?
- Time frame: When will the project/goal be completed?
These specifics make the goal more achievable because you know exactly what to work towards. A vague aspiration of ‘becoming rich’ without any plan to back it up will be hard to visualise and realise. If your more precise goal is “save $10,000 in 12 months by working a second job” then suddenly you have a figure to work towards, a second job to acquire and a deadline to adhere to, all of which can be broken down into smaller goals. Otherwise, it’s just an unspecified pipe dream.
Once something is scribed onto paper it becomes a contract between you and the universe. While you're at it tell family and friends about your goals to help make you be more accountable. Once declared, it is no longer an intangible ambition floating around your head.
Keep a list of your goals or your word/theme for the year somewhere you can easily see it. Try your fridge or dressing table and make sure you celebrate any goals you do achieve. Acknowledging the little wins along the way is an important part of being successful and keeping you on track. Decide on what your rewards will be when setting goals so you have something to look forward to. The worst that can happen is nothing changes and you don’t achieve any of your goals… but… what if you do?
Alison Gallagher is a freelance writer, resourcefulness expert and entrepreneur. She has been featured in various publications including Stellar Magazine, Australian Health and Fitness Magazine, and Cleo Magazine. Alison is particularly passionate about sharing practical tips on how to live simply, sustainably and seasonally.
