Stick to Your Financial Plan With Fun Goals
It’s not often that you come across the words “finance” and “fun” in the same sentence. Personal finance is a pretty boring topic. This makes it easy to neglect your financial goals. To gain traction and stay motivated to achieve these goals, keep them small and fun.
We told you that it is important to set smaller milestones in order to achieve your goals . This helps break them down and make them more digestible. But Simple Dollar’s Trent Hamm goes further and makes his goals exciting. He explains:
When I first really realized how serious our financial problems are, the first thing I did was go to the library and look through a small pile of books on personal finance. These books were full of good advice, but the pieces that really stuck out to me were the ones that really spoke to my situation of someone earning a solid income and still struggling with debt. What were these books told me to do? Set relatively short-term goals with exciting results. The first thing I did was spend a week or two cleaning the closet and selling unnecessary items. It was a very clear goal with a very clear result – less stuff, more money. This money will be used to lift my head above the water again and pay some of the bills that I have delayed. Since I sold several vintage baseball and collectible cards, I had enough money to actually pay off one of my credit cards! It was a clear, achievable and exciting personal finance goal.
When drafting a financial goal, it’s helpful to define it in these terms — clear, achievable, and fun . There’s nothing fun about cleaning up your closet and selling things on eBay. But pay with a credit card if you’ve been in debt for a long time? This is interesting.
This is why financial problems can be interesting and effective. Yes, they are short-term, but when you complete them, you feel satisfaction, especially after realizing how much you have saved. This excitement is a great introduction to a more financially savvy lifestyle. Rather than seeing finance as a boring chore, it turns into an exciting streak of small victories. Over time, these small wins will help you achieve your larger goals.
For more details, check out Hamm’s full publication at the link below.
Setting Achievable And Interesting Financial Goals | Simple dollar