Good Morning Dinks. I know that we all read Dinks Finance from our own corners of the world each morning, but did you also know that we all have one thing in common (other than reading Dinks)? No matter where you live, no matter how much money you make and no matter how much debt you may have we all have one thing in common. We all have personal and financial goals.
What are your personal goals?
Having personal goals helps me get through the day. I like waking up every morning and knowing that I am working towards something each and every day. Having personal goals also keeps me motivated throughout the day. When my boss is getting on my nerves I like to know that I have something to look forward to at the end of the day. When I am having a bad day at my 9 to 5 job I like to know that I can come home and work towards my personal goals outside of the office.
I have personal short term goals that I want to achieve with a year, I have personal long term goals that I want to achieve within five years and I also have daily financial goals that I want to achieve. My personal short term goals include finishing my first book and finding a new job in media or journalism. My long term goals include finishing two other books, booking more public speaking appearances and relocating to New York City. On a daily basis I like to watch my personal spending, control my impulse purchases, and try to be debt free.
Prioritizing your financial goals
If you are like me then you have lists and lists of new ideas, personal goals and lots of things to do every single day. To some people it may seem crazy, but like I said, I enjoy having something to work towards each and every day. So how do I prioritize my goals? Ideally the most urgent personal goals should be accomplished first. This means that if you needed to have something done yesterday then you should make sure to get it done today. You can also prioritize your personal goals by order of importance or significance. If you really want something out of life then you should try and get it done first.
Financial goals are a little bit different. You should prioritize your financial goals in order of their cost. Make a list your financial goals in order of the ones that are costing you the most amount of money in the short term or the ones that will cost you the least amount of money in the long term.
If your financial goal is to be debt free then you should focus on paying off the debt with the highest interest rate first. If your credit cards all have the same interest rate then you should pay off the credit card with the highest balance first because it is costing you the most money in the form of monthly interest charges.
If your financial goal is to save for retirement then you should make it a priority at a young age because you can save less money over a longer period of time thanks to the beauty of compound interest and dollar cost averaging. What is your current personal or financial goal?
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Kristina Tahnyak
Tahnya is a Certified Financial Planner and former Investment Advisor turned marketing and communications professional She holds a degree from Concordia University, is debt free and currently works in the field of digital marketing.
Fabulous posting Kristina. Love it.
Thanks James. I am working on my personal goals one day at a time.
Our personal goal is starting a 2 acre organic farming operation in the spring. It seems further and further away as the winter sets in here, but saving now for our expenses in six months will do us a world of good. We want to take out as little in loans as possible, which means saving every penny now. It’s less fun to be so choosy about seeing a movie, going shopping, or buying a lunch at work, but we know it will be worth it when the frozen tundra of Illinois begins to thaw in April. But we do have to remember that saving for retirement has to be priority, too, even as we throw all of our effort behind this project.
My personal goal is to write as much, and as often, as I can!
Great goal barn cat! Write back and let us know how its going!
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