Sunday, August 21, 2011

Where are you headed?

You may have expected me to start this thing by saying "you have to sit down and make a budget!"  BUT that would be boring and would only start you off on the wrong foot.  Nobody likes sitting down to make a budget; it's time consuming and can be very difficult and probably even depressing.  You wouldn't start training for a marathon by running 20 miles, right?  So it doesn't make sense to start off this journey by keeping track of every penny that is earned or spent.  Boring!

The first step is knowing where you're going.  Got it?  Go back and read it again because this is important.  You won't reach any of your goals if you don't even know what they are!

Take a few minutes for yourself here.  Think about your current financial goals.  If you didn't have any financial goals, you wouldn't be working or going to school to get a degree.  So what are they?  It may be a little difficult to determine, but a helpful place to start is with your current situation.  What do you want to change?  What do you like about your current situation?  For example, I used one of my current bills to create an immediate goal as well as a long term goal.  My student loan bills are a pain, but they have to be paid, so I made it an immediate goal to apply as much as I can to get them paid off as soon as possible.  This turned into a long term goal when I figured out how much I could spend on these bills each month, but that happened later on.

Don't worry about exact figures right now.  Figure out what you are working for.  Maybe you want to live comfortably instead of paycheck to paycheck.  Do you want to save to buy a house?  A car?  Have money for a wedding?  Do you want to travel?  These are just a few questions to get you started on your goals.  Figure out your immediate goals as well as your long term goals and remember:  you don't need a huge long list right from the start.  It's going to change and grow over time anyway, so start with five or six goals.  Keep it simple.

The most important thing is getting started right now and keeping your goals in mind.  I wrote myself a note on my phone that I can look at and update whenever I have to.  Find a way to make it simple for yourself.  I'll say it again: the most important thing is that you DO IT!  If you sit there and say that you don't know enough about finance to get started, you will never do it.  Believe me, very few of us really know "enough" about finance.  The most successful people are the ones who aren't afraid to get started.

Know what you want and what you're working for.  If you don't, future posts on this site probably won't be very much help to you.  So get started now!

Don't forget to comment or email teachmerich@gmail.com with any questions or suggestions!

1 comment:

  1. Loved the blog!! Keep them coming, I'm feeling motivated. :)

    ReplyDelete