You’ve been thinking about all of the things that you want to accomplish this year. On this list of thoughts are; getting rid of your student loan, saving $10,000, and becoming a homeowner. Will you be able to get all of these things done? To give yourself a head start there are some action steps that you need to take so that you can give yourself a head start.
Firstly, you need to write the thoughts down. If you are like me, you have had many dreams of the great things you could create, the awesome person you could be and the many accomplishments you would have. How many of those ideas do you remember? Writing your dreams down allows you to have a quick reference to review. Also, how often do you focus on things that you don’t have a visual of. If you are not content with simply writing it with words, use a vision board that will constantly grab your attention. We tend to focus more on this that we can see than dreams we have to attempt to recall. However you decide to do it, remember if it is not written/visual it is not real.
Secondly, give your dream some parameters. I always talk about creating SMART goals. If you were to focus on three of the attributes from the SMART goal, use specific, measurable and time-bound. A specific goal tells you exactly what your focus is on. Instead of saying you want to have more money this year. You can say I will add more cash to my savings account. Do not forget to make your goal measurable. This measure is one way you will be able to track your progress. Your financial goal now becomes, I will add $5,000 dollars more in cash to my savings account. You also want to make sure that you give yourself a dedicated time frame in which to reach your goal. This time frame allows to to track and manage your progress. The end goal now becomes I will add $10,000 more in cash to my savings account by December 29th, 2021. Your dream has substance and motivates you to achieve it. You can even call it a goal now.
Finally, you must create a plan to achieve your goal. Your goal now is to complete the purchase of a single family home at $200,000 or less by December 30th, 2021. You will now have to create a plan that requires smaller goals to be met in order to achieve the big one. For example, you may create a plan which includes the following; choose a real estate agent by January 30th, view up to 5 properties and make a choice by March 15th, and secure financing by April 24th. These steps, although made up, give you some idea of the planning that goes behind making your goals real. Not having a plan, increases the risk of your goals slipping back into dream status.
While there are definitely more steps you can take to turn your dreams into goals, these three steps are things that you can do at this very moment. The great part about it is that the biggest thing you have to invest to accomplish these three steps is time, and not too much of it. What are you waiting on?
Here are your Real Keys;
Write/Visualize Your Dreams
Give Your Dreams Parameters; Specific, Measurable, Time-bound
Create A Plan For Achievement
I am Kathy Lloyd your Realtor® and Financial Coach
If you want to learn more about accomplishing your goals, register for the Foundations for Financial Freedom Course, and follow me on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube