The District Chronicles

Issue date: 9/20/09 Section: Business

Financial success begins with having goals and all you need is a paper and pen to start.

"Winning is not a sometime thing.  It's an all-time thing.  You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time.  Winning is a habit.  Unfortunately, so is losing," stated Vince Lombardi, former championship coach of the Green Bay Packers professional football team.

In the same tone, winning financially and achieving financial goals is not a sometime thing. It's an all-time thing.  The seven steps to setting and achieving financial goals are not secrets.  We do it all the time on our jobs when we set sales or production goals, cost reductions or specific project achievements.  The trick is to apply the same techniques to your finances with the same rigor and personal management. It starts with a winning attitude.

Seven Steps to Setting Financial Goals

Step 1- Sit down with a clean sheet of paper and brainstorm the question, "What do I really want out of life?"  Write down every possible financial goal that comes to mind: a house, early retirement, debt payoff, children's education, new car, overseas vacation, etc.  Dream and write them all down.

Step 2- Discuss the list with your family or people who are significant in your life.  With their input, expand and modify the list.  In working with clients, I find that many times they have not discussed their family's financial goals and agreed on the priority.  This lack of communication about finances can lead to serious family conflicts.

Step 3- Go over your list a second time.  This time, refine and prioritize the list, adding an element of realism to it.  Write down the items that are most important on a sheet of paper called "Key Financial Goals."  Cross off the items you really don't want or need.  Move anything you might have mixed emotions to a separate sheet called "Future Goals."  After you have achieved some of your key goals, you may want to include some items from this list.

Step 4- Expand each of your key goals, estimating the cost (in today's dollars) and when you will achieve the goal.  It is very important that you are specific in each of these areas.  For example: develop a college fund for my son that will pay 50 percent of his college expenses at a public university - $30,000 needed by 2019.

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