When trying to make a financial plan it’s very important for you to have an idea about what your priorities are in life and what goals you are trying to achieve. After all, setting financial goals correctly can help your money work better for you.
It is often the case that we have many financial goals but not enough resources to meet them. None of us have an unlimited amount of income. Even if you’re a high earner, you’re likely limited by how much you earn. Which means that you may have to choose to meet one goal over another. Should you buy a car to travel to work or should you save up for a down payment on a house?
These are tough decisions and the answer depends on your own life priorities. Determining what these priorities are can take time and a lot of introspection. The good news is that once you figure out what your priorities are, it’s much easier to get your finances on track.
The first thing that you need to do is list down all possible financial goals that you are trying to achieve.
Then, you should clearly define each goal – you can check out our previous post on creating SMART goals to help you with this. Now you should have a list of goals with a money value and a time value.
Third you should add a ranking to each goal to help you identify what is most important and what is least important to you.
And finally, try and categorise each goal into a “need” or a “want” – this will help you further refine your rankings to prioritise those goals that are most important to you.
In this way you can jot down and prioritise your financial goals and start working towards those that are most important to you.