8. List Down Life Goals

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A goal is a future achievement with a timely deadline we can work towards. We can define a goal like this:

“A goal is a thought with commitment to make it real.”

Setting life goals is one of the most life-changing things we can do. 

Till date, we’ve invested as a “reaction” to something – maybe to get tax deduction, or because someone requested to purchase it.  Yes, there has always been an underlying intention to plan and save some amount regularly towards our financial goals, but most likely those goals are somewhere in thin air & not much thought has been given to clarify them.

Now, we should practice to actually write down the precise financial goal, when and for what, we need the funds & an estimated amount for it.

So, if we have a vague idea of purchasing a car some years down the line, it has no value. BUT, if we specify the details about which car, at what price, in which year we want to purchase then it becomes a financial goal. (For example I want to buy Hyundai Elite I 20 with price ₹ 7.8 Lakhs in 2017)

So our goals should be SMART i.e. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time bound.

We should prioritise our goals once decided.

How does listing down financial goals help? In the following ways:

v  Gives a lot of clarity on money requirements that are due in near future as well as requirement for long term goals so that the right planning can be done.

v  Different goals require different kinds of planning. Planning for a short term goal is very different from planning from a long term one.

v  A financial goals listing helps the investor take the right decisions on where & how much to invest so that the goals are met.

“Setting Goals is the first step in turning the invisible to visible.” – Tony Robbins.