5 Strategies to take charge and take control of your money - part 4

May 15, 9:02 AMWomen and Money ExaminerPatricia Stallworth

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Women and Money Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

This is the fourth in a six part series of strategies on taking charge and taking control of your money. Over the course of this series, I will discuss five major strategies you can use to take control and shape your financial future.

Let’s face it, taking charge and taking control of your money can be scary on a number of different levels, but it can also mean that you get to design the future of your choice. Just stop for a moment and imagine the possibilities when you are in control of your destiny, and taking control of your money is a giant leap toward doing just that. Here are five strategies you can use to get started:

The fourth strategy in taking charge and taking control of your money is developing a set of goals and creating a plan to achieve them. Your goals provide the motivation and a plan provides the direction. There’s an old saying, “If you don’t know where you want to go, any road will take you there.” The problem with this approach is that you may not end up where you thought you would. And that’s when the woulda, coulda, shoulda’s come in. Many of us put off making decisions about where we want to go and what we want to accomplish because with so many choices, we are afraid we will make the wrong ones. But if you can make some decisions and act on them, you will be further ahead than most people. By far the biggest money mistake that people make is doing nothing and you can easily avoid that trap. Remember, nothing is set in concrete and you can always change or tweak your goals and plans along the way.

Begin the process of setting goals and creating a plan to achieve them by just deciding what you want to accomplish in each of the major areas of your life. At a minimum set goals in the following areas:

• Financial goals – examples include income, savings, investment, and debt reduction goals.
• Business/Career/Life Work goals – examples include securing a new job, starting a business, continuing your education to further your career, and volunteer work.
• Health/Vitality goals – examples include changing your eating habits, weight loss, and exercise goals.
• Relationship goals – examples include developing or maintaining relationships with family, friends, mentors, business alliances, and community members.
• Personal Fulfillment goals – examples include peace of mind goals such as spiritual and family goals, charitable giving, and mentoring others.

After you develop a set of goals, place them in a priority order, and set deadlines to accomplish each one. You may need to break big goals into smaller ones so they are more manageable. For example, the idea of accumulating a million dollars may seen far out of reach today, but by breaking it into smaller parts and extending your time frame, it may be possible to achieve this goal by investing as little as $5,500 a year over a 30 year period, making it a lot more doable.

The final step before you develop a plan is to answer the following questions for each goal:

1. What will it take to accomplish it in terms of dollars and any other specific requirements?
2. What do I currently have in place to put toward this goal?
3. What is the gap between what I need to accomplish this goal and what I currently have?

Once you answer these questions, you have the starting point to develop a plan to fill in the gaps. Developing a plan involves reviewing each component needed to achieve your goal – money, education, behavior changes, etc. – and laying out specific steps to follow, sort of like a roadmap. For goals that require money or savings, review the budget you created in the third strategy to see how much money is left over to put toward your goals. If not enough money is available, you may need to re-evaluate your budget and/or your goals. First, review your budget and look for ways to decrease your expenses, increase your income, or both. After that, if you still don’t have enough money available to put toward your goals, you may need to consider revamping them or extending the deadline to accomplish them.

Finally, take action on your goals. Follow the steps you outlined in your plan and monitor your progress, making changes as needed. Don’t forget to celebrate your successes along the way, and as you achieve major goals, start the process all over again. Keep in mind, there is no limit on the number of goals you can set and achieve in your lifetime. “Remember, if you don’t mind your money, someone else will, and then they will control you future!” ps

If you liked this article, be sure to read the other segments and don’t forget to become a subscriber so that future articles will be delivered directly to your email box.

Got a burning money question or an idea for an article? Send me an email at ps@mindingyourmoney.net or post a comment below.