Smashing Financial Goals Never Happens Easily!!!

As a kid, I loved lego while also giving things a go.  Nothing seemed to get in the way, nothing seemed to scare me.

However, as we get older fear sets in, fear of failing, fear of what people other people will think, fearful of the unknown.

I see these traits in people all the time, particularly when it comes to planning their ideal lifestyle, financial milestones or planning their ideal retirement.

If only we could be a kid again and jump into these things head on without the fear of failure.

So, from time to time I jump out of my comfort zone and become a kid again, although my wife would say that I have never grown up!!!

So, you’re most probably sitting there thinking what is this luny financial planner talking about? right?

A number of years ago I decided I would design a lego cake for my eldest sons birthday, mainly made up of chocolate lego.  It was a hit.

I wasn’t going to do another one until my mother in law jumped in and said what you do for one you must do for the other.

So, guess what I did, I designed and made another one for my youngest sons birthday recently.

But what does this have to do with reaching your financial goals you might say? It has everything to do with the way you plan, implement and finally experience your financial goals.

Let’s walk through the process:-

The Idea

I had an idea, to make another lego cake.  That was the goal.

Financial Goal

For you, the idea or intentions might be to take regular overseas holidays every couple of years, put the kids through private school, renovate the house, build up enough in your retirement fund to where work would become an option.  What are your goals or intentions?

The Why

There was a good reason why I wanted to do this otherwise I would have just gone out and bought a cake.  My son loves Lego and really wanted a Lego cake for his birthday.  So my why was to see his enjoyment of having such a cake and have the best day.

Your Why

For anything to be achieved in life there must be a big why otherwise it will never happen.  Just look at the number of new years eve resolutions that never see the light of day.  That’s because there is not a big enough why behind it.

So if you are planning regular overseas trips, what’s the why?  It could be to spend valuable time with your family creating new experiences.  If it’s planning for retirement, it could be that you want more time with loved ones and you what more options so you experience more rather than be tied to a desk.  Whatever it is, there is a greater chance of you being motivated if your why is big enough.  In most cases, it’s about the experience.

The Research

So, now I had the idea, I needed to conduct some research, in my case what other people had created to get some ideas.  Following that, I drew up a rough plan to guide me along the way.

Your Research/The Foundation work

If you are looking at regular overseas trips, you want to look into where you are going, what type of experience you are looking for.  If you are planning for retirement, what type of lifestyle are you looking for, active/non-active, regular travel, regular caravanning or something else.

Ultimately this leads to a $$$ amount for which you now need to plan for.

The Plan

I had the idea, completed the research, had a rough idea on what I wanted to create and now I could implement the plan to make that Lego cake a reality.  I made sure I had all the chocolate, the molds, the colouring and I had to plan out the time so that it would be ready in time for my sons’ birthday.

I decided this time to bring in some help and had the actual cake/the base made by someone else to save me some time.

Your Plan

Rarely does anything come to fruition without some sort of plan?  When was the last time that you went to the airport with no destination or anything planned?  Never right?  This is no different.

This is the time that you look into the options to make it a reality.  You’re likely to have a timeframe, you work out what you need to save over a period of time and if this is too big break it down into smaller periods/steps to make it more achievable.

If you’re planning for retirement you may need to look into options around contributing to super/reviewing your investment risk/your current spending/working longer maybe, whatever it is you will walk away with a rough/good guide on how you are going to achieve that dream.

Constant Review

You wouldn’t think it, but yes I had to constantly review the timeframe and where I was up too.  If I was looking as though I was behind, I had to make the sacrifice and work longer hours to have the finished product ready on time.

Your Review

This is where most get it very wrong, there is no regular review of your progress.  It’s generally a hope and whim and maybe we’ll get there.  There needs to be a regular review on how you are progressing so that you can course correct along the way and identify any opportunities or just fine tune the strategy you have implemented.

Read our blog about the one metric here>>> 

Course Corrections

When creating this cake,  I was nearly at the end when I realised my design was not going to quite work out.  It put me in a spin for a little bit trying to work out what I could do to make it look good.  I came up with a change that was going to make the cake work.

Your Course Corrections

Here’s the thing, nothing ever goes in a straight line when planning for financial goals or intentions.  There are constant reviews and course correcting to arrive at your desired destination.  It could be changes to rules, investment markets drop, you spend more than expected/ don’t save as much or you just altered your plans.

Constant reviews and course correction is how people are able to achieve their financial goals in a timeframe that works for them.  They are more in control of their actions by undertaking this regular review and course correcting in a timely manner.

The Experience

So, the cake was finished as you can see, although a little rushed at the end, but the look on my’s sons face when around all his little buddies was priceless.  He was so proud of the cake and the kids loved it.  To be honest I was disappointed I had to cut it.

Yes,  I was worried what people would say, yes I was concerned I might fail but you know what, if you implement the right structure and process, you won’t fail.

Your Experience

Ask yourself, what experiences do I want to have?  How are you planning to make them a reality?  Take the next step even if it’s a little one and make those experiences a reality.

If you don’t know where to start ask for help.

Hope that helps!!!

Here’s the cake:-

NEXT STEPS>>

So, if you’re a professional, business owner or someone planning for retirement and are wanting to get your version of a personal trainer in finance and want to master your finances then feel free to book in a 15 min Possibilities call here>>> and we can start a conversation.

I’ll be honest here, we won’t do your pushups for you, but if you are motivated for the right reasons we can save you a lot of time and heartache and save you from the mistakes most people make to fast track your way to wealth.

Hope that’s been useful.

Glenn

Make it a great Life!

Challenging the Status Quo!

Glenn Doherty – CFP – Founder & Financial Organiser at Jigsaw Private Wealth

Website: jigsawprivatewealth.com.au

Email: gdoherty@jigsawprivatewealth.com.au

Mob: 0401 253 729

Request a Retirement Clarity Call

An opportunity to talk through some of your challenges and questions you have around your retirement.

Achieve some clarity and maybe a roadmap on how you can achieve a comfortable retirement.

Schedule here

Advice Disclaimer: Any reference in this publication to the provision of advice refers to advice of a generic nature, and should not be taken as product or investment recommendations. Before any action is taken based on the information provided, independent financial advice from a licensed financial adviser should be sought. Financial Freedom Project Pty Ltd ATF GA & DC Doherty Family Trust Trading as Jigsaw Private Wealth is a Corporate Authorised Representative of Exelsuper Advice Pty Ltd. The information contained in this publication is of a factual nature only and is not intended to constitute financial product advice. Information is current as at date of publication. This is an online information blog. It does not imply an offering of securities.