What's Your Goals?

Today I want to talk about setting financial goals.

Setting financial goals is the best way to stay focused and improve your financial situation, no matter how good of shape your finances are in.

But first, let me ask you a question. The question is, how do you as a 401k or 403b participant become a 401k superhero to your future self?

That is the question, and these videos will give you the answers. Hey, I’m Jonathon Schultheiss and welcome to the Becoming a 401k superhero videos.

No matter what your financial goals are, it’s important that you have them. You see, goals are the fuel that keep us focused on the future.

For example, you may have a goal of saving for a family vacation, or you may be saving to buy your dream car.

If you’re closer to retirement, your goal may be to have a certain amount of money saved before you retire.

No matter what your goal is, there is a great methodology for helping you set those goals in a way that will help you reach them.

The method is called the SMART method. And it’s very simple.

The acronym goes like this:

S is for specific. Your goals should specific.

For example. My goal is to take my family on a vacation is not specific. I need to save $5,000 to take my family to Disney, is specific. And now you can start planning for that.

I want to retire is not specific. I want to pay off $10,000 of debt and have $500,000 in my retirement account is specific. Be as specific as possible about your goals.

M is for measurable.

Like the example before, saving $5000 for a vacation is measurable, or paying off $10,000 of debt and having $500,000 is measurable. Make sure you can measure your goal.

A is attainable.

You need to make sure that the goals you set are attainable. If your goal is to have $1m saved for retirement and you just started saving in your 60s. That may not be attainable unless you plan to work for an extended period of time.

R is for relevant.

Are your goals relevant to you? A goal that doesn’t matter to you will be hard to stick to. Know your why for your goal, and envision yourself hitting your goal. This will keep you focused.

And lastly, T is for time based.

Your goal must have a timeframe. A goal without a timeframe is just a wish. Let me say that again…..a goal, without a timeframe, is only a wish.

I want to save $5,000 for a vacation in the next six months, is a timeframe based goal. Or I want to be out of debt in the 18 months, is a timeframe based goal.

I hope you find value in this and you will use the SMART method for helping you reach your financial goals. And you use this method to help you become a 401k superhero to your future self.

If I can help you with anything, click on the link above and lets schedule a time to talk about your financial goals today.