Before we can start down our path, we need to know where we are going. What are your goals for the year? What challenges and issues can affect the outcome?
For many of us, our goals will include our personal objectives or family goals, professional goals for career expectations, and business goals for performance. Most financial freedom activities are shared in all our plans.
Why do you want Financial Independence?
Start by understanding why. Let’s say I put together a retirement estimation and it showed I require an additional $10,000 per year. My goal is to adjust my spending or increase my income to achieve this.
That’s why understanding our career goals is important. If I need to increase my income, how do I go about this? One common method is continuing education for advancement, another may be a part-time at-home position.
Goals
Each requires a plan, which also helps us to understand what is important, it also allows us to become aware of what worked and what didn’t by comparing our Actuals to our Budget. This starts with goal setting.
Goal setting involves establishing specific activities and timelines. Checkpoints or Milestones are stepping stones of your progress. By tracking activities, you can achieve your objectives. But first, you must know what your future desires are. What are your deepest desires? They will be the pathway to your goals.
Once you have them, it’s time to prioritize. Do you want to pay off student loans or credit card debt? Keep in mind that change will be necessary. Change is hard and change takes time. Try to view it as an opportunity for growth & development.
Remember human behavior as you set your plan in motion. There will be failures, setbacks, and more. When there is a setback, we can identify the problem and why it is happening to implement corrective action. Our plan will convert into a budget which will give us direction or we can use brainstorming and troubleshoot.
Brainstorming
Brainstorming finds options. Be creative and non-judgmental at this point. Just start writing down ideas. The key is not to decide if the item is relevant – that’s step two. First, write as many ideas down as possible. Than go back and prioritize based on best odds of success. Look at each option and uncover any impact on resources or relationships, and which action will provide the best results for the best price. When cutting costs in a business plan, layoffs are often considered, but brainstorming showed I could cut travel and entertainment. Be creative, then review all your options ato pick the correct solution!
Foresee some setbacks and determine options and alternatives in advance. Our goal is to see results in our financial health, and see a path towards prosperity and abundance. Results require consistency and flexibility.
Decide What Works for Financial Independence
One definition from the Oxford dictionary states: Consistency is compatibility and harmony between parts. Flexibility allows us to answer the question “What will make this work?
In deciding what will work – consider the questions for each area: personal life, career, and in business.
- Why are you interested in financial freedom?
- Be very specific.
- What are you hoping to accomplish?
- Use SMART Goals (Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time bound)
- How will you achieve this?
- Have a written Plan.