In last week’s blog post we helped you outline some general financial goals for 2021. Now that you’ve set your goals, how you do actually stick with them? Far too often, whether it’s a personal or financial goal, goals in the new year are left stranded by mid-February. Financial progress isn’t made overnight, so it’s crucial to find ways to stay on top of your goals each year. Building off of last week, we’ve outlined 4 ways for you to stay on track with your 2021 financial goals.
4 Tips to Help You Keep Your 2021 Financial Goals:
Come Up with A Specific Plan
Having a well thought out, specific plan really is the best way to accomplish your goals. Loosely defined, ambiguous goals are hard to stick with because they’re hard to measure progress. It’s important to not only have goals, but to have a plan of attack in place as well.
Whether it’s fitness or financial goals, it all starts with a strategic plan. You don’t need to wait for the new year to start this process, but the turn of the calendar is as good a time as any to get going. Set clear goals and a timeline for how you are going to achieve them. Starting with a plan helps hold you accountable.
Enjoy the Process
Who said that sticking to your financial goals couldn’t be fun? Make it fun to stick to your plan! Maybe you could find a family member or friend looking to tackle financial goals together. It would make things more enjoyable and establish a stronger sense of accountability.
Having clear, specific, measurable goals also allows you to build in small rewards along the way. Reach a new financial milestone? Reward yourself a little bit! Now obviously don’t get carried away with the rewards, but just enough to add a little extra motivation.
Track Your Progress
If you’re not tracking your progress along the way, how are you supposed to know if you’re getting close to accomplishing your goals? It’s easy to lose track of your ultimate goal if you don’t actively track what you’re doing.
Luckily, in 2020, there are plenty of ways to keep track! Personal finance apps can help you track your spending/savings habits, or even go the old fashioned way and use a notebook. Tracking your progress will help you see progress in real time, keep you motivated, hold yourself accountable, and provide a way to reflect back on the process once it’s all said and done.
Create a Support System
Find a few trustworthy friends and family members that can help by holding you accountable. This is an essential part of maintaining your financial progress. If friends and family see that you are struggling to stay true to your resolutions, they can interfere and help you get back on track so that you can achieve your goals.
Keeping, and reaching, a goal in the new year is possible! Don’t let your new financial goals for 2021 fall by the wayside like so many other resolutions. Don’t let your financial goals become that unused gym membership in February. Use these easy tactics to help keep yourself on track. You’ll be thankful that you did.
If you have yet to set your financial goals and need help, we’d be happy to sit down with you! Working with a financial planner can make goal setting much less intimidating. We can work with you to set up a manageable plan of attack to help make 2021 your best year yet! Click here to schedule an initial call with our team.
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