Too many people have millionaire dreams but no millionaire plans. Well, you can’t become a millionaire just by dreaming, wanting or wishing for wealth.
You have to lay out a plan, and you have to execute in order to fulfill the goals within that plan. As you’re developing the framework for your millionaire’s budget, now is a good time to think about planning for the future and reaching some of your bigger goals.
We all have goals, whether or not we realize it.
So many times we get caught up in the tasks and activities required just to make it day-to-day that we forget about setting substantive goals for the future.
But it’s absolutely crucial to establish and write out your short, medium and long-range goals. Some of you may not have thought about your own goals much lately.
Perhaps your life has been consumed by your children’s world; their needs and wants always come first, and you constantly put your desires on the back burner.
Well, it’s a mistake to do that. Financially speaking, you can get yourself so wrapped up in another person – whether that individual is your child, partner or parent – that you neglect yourself and fail to engage in smart, practical financial planning for yourself.
You don’t want to look up 20 years from now and think: “I should’ve managed my money better when I was younger.”
To start handling your finances better today, and to make a giant leap toward becoming a millionaire, one of the most important things you can do is to write out your personal goals.
This one act alone will help you build a foundation for a lifetime of wealth. If you are married, or in a committed relationship, I suggest you do this exercise with your partner.
Write your goals first, and then share your goals with the other person. At the end of the day, we are all individuals with out own unique dreams and ambitions.
Yet, for those of use involved with significant others, it’s crucial that you make a habit of setting – and reaching – your goals together.
I want you to think of your goals in the context of how long it will be before these goals can be realized. Short-term goals should be something that you can accomplish in a relatively brief period of time, say in one to two years, at most.
Medium-term goals can be classified as those that require two to 10 years to accomplish. Long-range goals are those that require 10 years or more to fulfill.
To jumpstart your thinking, I’ve included a laundry list of goals below. Some of these may be relevant to you; others may hold no significance for you.
The idea, however, is to give yourself permission to focus on the things you want to accomplish in the future, goals you may never have acknowledged to yourself, let alone written down or verbalized to someone else.
Among the goals you might pursue are:
- ·Eliminating credit card debt
- ·Buying a new home
- ·Saving for a college education
- ·Investing for retirement
- · Starting a business
- ·Establishing a cash cushion
- · Paying for a wedding
- ·Saving for a new baby
- ·Purchasing a vacation home
- ·Traveling around the world
- ·Buying a boat
- ·Paying off student loans
- ·Making a large contribution to church, synagogue, etc.
- ·Buying a new car or a second
