3 Steps You Need To Take To Reach Your Financial Goals

To live life on purpose, we know that we need to set goals. But often, we don't apply this belief to our finances.

Why? Well, money is less flexible in terms of success or failure - if you set out to make £30,000 and you don't make it then you've failed, and that doesn't feel good. So we're reluctant to set those solid goals. But even if you don't reach your exact goal, as long as you've made every effort to work towards it, you haven't failed, you've learned.

So here are some steps you can take to put you on track to smashing those financial goals.

GET VERY SPECIFIC

Whether you're aiming to earn or save money, it's important to know how much you need and why.

If you have a reason as to why you're aiming for your financial goal, not only will you be able to work out the exact amount, but you can use this reason to keep you on track when you're feeling demotivated.

This could be anything from saving up for a deposit on a house or wanting to earn enough money to move to a nicer place and go on holiday once a year. It's personal to you.

You'll be able to work out exactly how much money you need to achieve once you know what you're going to use it for.

BREAK YOUR GOAL INTO SMALLER STEPS

If you're saving, don't just save random amounts. Decide in advance how much you're going to save each month and mark on your calendar when you're going to hit your goal to keep you excited and motivated.

Likewise, if you're aiming to earn a certain amount of income from your business this year, divide it by 12 to get your monthly target and plan how you're going to make that money every month. How many of your products or services do you need to sell each month to make it? Is there anything you can do to increase your earnings, like promoting your business more, reaching out to potential clients or even selling some of your unwanted possessions?

Plan it out, break it down and take steps towards your goal each day.

BE AWARE OF YOUR MONEY HABITS

If you aren't aware of your behaviours when it comes to money, you need to find out what they are and eliminate anything which is sabotaging your efforts.

If your goal is to make more profit from your business this year, watch out for things like undercharging, forgetting to chase up invoices and spending on things that aren't benefiting your business.

If you're saving, track your spending, see if there are any areas you spend more than you need to without realising (e.g. food shopping and eating out) and make sure you're aware of anything that triggers you spending money so you can be prepared.