Now that you have a budget in place and starting to accumulate your emergency reserves, the next step in creating a retirement plan is identifying your life situation and, therefore, your financial situation. Will you be getting married soon? Starting a family? Weddings and babies take a lot of planning; you won’t have much time to think about money in the midst of these life changes.
Expecting life to just present you with what you desire or what’s best has resulted in most of us putting our lives on automatic pilot! But It’s time to stop and think about it. Each year, before you settle into a routine, try to think about your goals and plan for your life. You won’t accomplish any dreams if you don’t think about them first. Life does not just happen. You give up your power when you give up responsibility. The more responsibility you take over your life, the richer your life becomes.
Only when you create a concrete plan and take the necessary action will you be able to control what happens in your life. Think about it, how many persons do you know who have had very successful careers, made lots of money and today after working all their lives have nothing to show for it. Life should be an accumulation of experiences and rewards that enable us to ride out into the sunset with satisfaction and dignity. Many people simply drift through life, never taking the time to consciously choose what they want. By setting goals and working consistently with them, you will bring results, meaning and satisfaction to your days. You’ll relish being the captain of your own ship!
Regrets are what we get if we don’t have and work a plan. Here are two quotes that I read recently that drive home this point, “If you do not know where you are going, every road will get you nowhere.”– Henry Kissinger. “When schemes are laid in advance, it is surprising how often the circumstances will fit in with them.” — Sir William Osler
Goals help you grow. The question to ponder then is “What are my goals? Are they providing me with big enough growth opportunities? What’s really important to you? Do you want to help people? Travel the world? Spend time with family? Keep physically fit?
Everyone should have at least five principles that you want to guide your life. These principles will help you determine which life goals are in line with the real you. Now it’s time to get specific. Give yourself time to learn the process and build good
habits. If goal setting is new for you, don’t try to do too much. Focus on identifying only 3 goals and creating an action plan for each. Then follow through. Cultivating a firm focus on your top goals will assure success.
Think about the goals you want to achieve in the next five, 10 and 20 years. Probably you want to save to buy a home, saving for your children or grandchildren’s education, going on a Mediterranean cruise or making a million dollars by age 45. Whatever it is if you want it to happen, you must write it! So here are the questions you can use to make the goal specific:
1. What are your goals?
2. Why are these goals important to you?
3. Do these goals coincide with your life principles? Which ones?
4. When would you like to achieve these goals?
5. What do you need to accomplish these goals?
6. What steps will you take to achieve these goals?
7. What steps can you take this week?
8. What challenges might you face when striving to reach these goals?
9. How can you overcome these challenges?
Take a good look at the goals you’ve set for yourself. Now select the five that are most important to you and commit to reaching each of these goals. Remember to keep your worksheet in your retirement organizer and refer to the list regularly to stay focused.
Enjoying the articles, Are you starting to benefit from the information that we have been sharing with you? Are you starting to see the benefits of starting your retirement planning right away? Maybe you still have some questions about getting started. This is where our retirement coaching comes in. It helps you take action now that will begin moving you towards your goal.
Through coaching, you get personalized attention and information on exactly the issues you are working on and how to integrate them into your overall plan. Coaching provides you with the support you need to succeed by having a partner in the process, who is on your side. Having a coach focuses your attention; it clarifies your goals and encourages you to aim higher. You have fewer frustrations. A coach will challenge you to eliminate the distractions, the frustrations, irritations and annoyances.
~People always ‘assume’ that their lives are going to be like a fairytale…a life is only ‘a fairytale’ when it is created. ~ Unknown
By Glenn Ferguson
Glenn Ferguson is a financial planner who specializes in retirement coaching
“Providing the help you need today, to secure the future you want tomorrow”
Email to: glen@coralwave.com Tel: 242-327-0854
