Identifying Needs and Objectives
The more effort you put into setting your short term and long term goals the more rewarding your life will be. This process helps you determine where you want to concentrate your time and energy. Together we will refine your long term vision and motivate you when your short term goals are successful.
There are a few simplified tips we would like to share with you to establish meaningful goals. First, divide your life up into general categories. Ask yourself simple questions regarding the category topic to begin establishing a goal that is important to you. The following example is a broad representation of important areas of an average individual’s life and is prioritized based on time horizon. Feel free to make adjustments to the categories and questions as needed to paint an accurate picture of the areas you want to focus on.
- Attitude – Is any part of your mindset holding you back? Have you established a foundation for self evaluation? (Set a goal to read the King James Bible and attend a Bible based church)
- Family – What can you do to make your family life better? Do you feel you spend enough time with your family? ( Set a goal to work smarter to free up quality time for your family)
- Career – Is your career meeting short term financial obligations and putting you on track for retirement? (Set a goal which meets short term and long term financial obligations)
- Mortgage – How much should you spend each month on mortgage payments? Is refinancing the right thing to do? (Set a goal with us to determine mortgage obligations)
- Budget – Do you know exactly where your money goes each month? How should you use your credit card to improve your credit score? Did you know a budget is the center of a sound financial plan? (Set a goal with us to make a budget)
- Emergency Funds – What if you lose your job in a bad economy and you can’t find work for six months? (Set a goal with us to set up an emergency checking and debit card)
- Catastrophic Risk – What will your family do if you don’t have tomorrow to take care of them? (Set a goal with us to provide income and pay off debt for them)
Retirement Planning – How and when do you see yourself retiring? Do you know how much you’ll need? What type of lifestyle would you like to have? Where do you plan on retiring? (Set a goal with us to help refine your plan) - Business Interest – What would happen if your business partner or key employee died? Does your business partner have family members who would want his or her half of the company’s net worth? Do you want your partner’s family members to take his or her place as your partner? (set a goal with us to put a succession plan in place)
- Higher Education – Who do you want to help educate? How much will it cost? (Set a goal with us to plan for higher education needs)
- Estate Planning – Did you know half of your estate could go to pay taxes? Do you want your family to take care of your estate without your guidance? (Set a goal with us to develop an estate plan)
Second, apply the following SMART mnemonic to each goal in each category of your life to add clarity to the goal you’ve established. For example, don’t just say “I want to pay my house off” and leave it at that. Instead, it’s more powerful to say “I will pay my house off May 15, 2020”. Obviously, it takes careful preparation to achieve this goal. An accurate budget must be completed before hand. Then you’ll know how much additional money can be applied to the principal mortgage payment by diverting funds from another area where they were not being used efficiently. You can use the mortgage payoff calculator in the mortgage & budget section of this website to determine when you will pay off your mortgage. As a side note, eliminate debt with the highest interest rate first.
S – Specific (or Significant)
M – Measurable (or Meaningful)
A – Attainable (or Action – Oriented)
R – Relevant (or Realistic)
T – Time-Bound (or Trackable)