Financial To-Do List
With a thousand things to do and limited energy, how do you know which to do first? In my personal life, at times it seems like I am a professional juggler. Like most women I know, I juggle the work-family balance, laundry, paying bills, feeding the family, reviewing bank and retirement statements, watering the plants, etc. The list seems to be endless.
Just like in the day-to-day routine, your finances are no different. The list can seem endless but with help of goal setting and the magic of prioritization, your financial goals can too be marked off the list.
After spending a bit of time thinking of your and your family’s big picture goals, you can begin to prioritize, so that the most pressing or highest importance are at the forefront. Now that your goals are set it will be helpful to make a list of smaller “to-do’s” that will help accomplish the ultimate goal. For example, if one of your long-term goals is to retire, you might break this large task into manageable annual goals. Perhaps setting an annual dollar amount you would like to save or increasing your monthly savings contribution to meet the company match, then a recurring increase each year. You may also need to create a schedule or reminders to ensure you don’t stray from the original task.
When prioritizing financial goals, sometimes the least appealing is easily pushed to the back of the pile, like paying off debt. Breaking your goals down to smaller, easily attained tasks can help. Try outlining all of your debt, then develop an action plan to pay off each loan. Take small steps to help achieve the financial independence you seek. Once the ball is rolling, the momentum will help push you along to capture the end result of meeting your financial or other goals, or at least make a big push towards them. Keep your goals fresh on your mind, perhaps as a new screen saver on your computer or phone, review often, and reward yourself as you make progress.
It’s 2021, time to determine your financial goals and start checking items off the to-do list once and for all! Call a CFP® Professional today.
Published in the Victoria Advocate
Beth Koonce is a CFP® Professional for KMH Wealth Management, LLC. She has been with the firm for over five years.
