How To Get Your Money Goals Sorted

Let’s talk about money goals. We all have them, right? Maybe you’re dreaming of a beach holiday, eyeing that latest smartphone, or perhaps you’re thinking big with a home of your own.

Whatever floats your boat, getting your finances in order is the first step to turning those dreams into reality. And guess what? It’s not as complicated as it sounds.

I’m here to break it down for you, minus the financial jargon. It’s like putting together a jigsaw puzzle – find the right pieces and voilà, the bigger picture comes to life.

Being financially fit is part of my overall wellness journey, so it’s important! Let’s grab a cup of coffee and start sorting through those money goals, one piece at a time.

How To Get Your Money Goals Sorted

Today we will be looking at how to get your money goals sorted in readiness for creating your budget next week. Exciting times people!

Up first, you’ll need to calculate your net worth.  You’re going to want that information with you to get your money goals sorted because your current net worth is your starting point.

Haven’t calculated your net worth yet? Then now’s the time, if you need some help with it then my post on how to calculate your net worth will give you all the information you need.

What are Money Goals?

Money goals are pretty darn important. So important that they often overlap with our ultimate life goals.

The majority of people’s life goals do intertwine with their money goals because, whether we like it or not, most of our life is governed by money.

Now people often don’t like hearing that but it’s true. There is very little in our lives where money does not have a direct or indirect impact.

Including both positive and negative impacts. Remember more money doesn’t always equal positive things.

What we are aiming for is enough money.

Enough money to keep you in good health, to give you a safe and warm place to live. To allow you to do things that excite you or things you are passionate about. Enough money so you can afford to really help others around you.

Money goals help us understand what we actually want to spend our time doing and help us reach our ‘enough money’. They stop us from falling into the trap of working a job we don’t care about until retirement because we think we don’t have enough money and need to earn more.

Money goals facilitate us to live a life we actually love.

For example:

Mary works super hard and earns a decent wage. However, she never seems to have enough money to do the things that really matter to her. (She loves skydiving but it’s pretty expensive).

Jane also works super hard, earns a good wage and loves skydiving. (Mary and Jane have been skydiving together quite a few times actually). Jane often gets to go skydiving because she’s in control of her finances.

Whilst Jane knows that it’s money that allows her to go skydiving, she also knows that she’s the one earning the money and managing the money, so ultimately she can control the direction her life takes. Including how often she goes skydiving.

See how Mary is not controlling her money so it ends up controlling her. Whereas Jane is very good at money management and so governs her own life and it’s direction.

So when you read the statement that “most of our life is governed by money” you should be excited because that means you as an individual have ultimate control.

You can control how much or how little money you have and you can also control your mindset towards money.

Understanding Your Financial Situation

First things first, let’s play detective with your finances. Grab your bank statements, a notepad, and maybe a calculator (if you’re feeling fancy).

It’s like going on a treasure hunt, but instead of a treasure chest, you’re looking for where your money’s hiding.

Are you spending a small fortune on Pokemon cards? Maybe there’s a gym membership gathering dust?

Knowing where your money goes each month is like having a map – it shows you the way to your treasure (aka your goals).

Setting Clear Financial Goals

Now, let’s talk goals. And I’m not just talking about “I want to be rich” kind of goals.

We need the nitty-gritty, the specifics. Think of it like ordering a pizza – you wouldn’t just say ‘I want a pizza’. You’d go for ‘I want a large pepperoni pizza with extra cheese’.

That’s how specific your financial goals should be.

Dreaming of a vacation? Put a number on it. Eyeing a new car? What’s the price tag?

The clearer your goals, the easier to chase them. Creating a Budget: Budgeting – it’s not just a fancy word your accountant uncle throws around. It’s actually pretty simple.

Think of it as planning a road trip. You need to know how much gas you need, the best route to take, and where you’ll stop for those all-important snack breaks.

Your budget is just that, but for your money. Track your income, your expenses, and see where you can cut back (like maybe one less fancy coffee a week).

There are tons of apps out there to help, or you can kick it old school with a spreadsheet.

Prioritizing Your Goals

Okay, so you can’t buy a mansion, a yacht, and a trip to the moon all at once. That’s where prioritizing comes in. It’s like when your phone’s battery is at 10% – you close the apps you don’t need to save power for what’s important (like scrolling through memes, obviously).

Do the same with your money – focus on what’s most important and what can wait.

Strategies to Achieve Your Financial Goals

Here’s where we get creative. Saving money doesn’t have to be boring. For instance, challenge yourself to a ‘no-spend’ weekend. It’s like a game of survival, but instead of being stranded on a desert island, you’re avoiding online shopping and fancy brunches. Get a piggy bank – yes, seriously.

Watching it fill up is weirdly satisfying. And look into investments. It might sound like grown-up stuff, but it can be as simple as a savings account with a good interest rate.

Monitoring and Adjusting Your Goals

Life’s unpredictable – like when you find an extra fry at the bottom of the bag. Sometimes you’ll need to tweak your goals. Maybe you get a raise (yay!) or face an unexpected expense (not so yay).

Regular check-ins with your finances keep you on track. Think of it like a reality TV show where you’re both the star and the audience, watching your money drama unfold.

An Exercise to Get Your Money Goals Sorted

Grab a pen and paper as you will probably want to write your thoughts down. It’s time to get a little deep.

ASK YOURSELF THESE THREE QUESTIONS:

Q1: If money was no object what would you do?

If you answered sit on a beach and relax then just consider why. Is it a slower pace of life you’re looking for? Traveling? Living in a hot climate?

Sometimes when we get asked that question we view it with such disbelief that our answer is more like what we would do in the month following money being no object. Rather than what we would do for the rest of our lives.

So rethink your answer if all you came up with was a holiday.

Q2: You can do any activity (or activities) in the world as a job but you will only ever be paid minimum wage no matter what you choose, what would you do?

When I say any activity I really mean it, even if it isn’t something we would traditionally class as a job, maybe it’s more like a hobby.

For example, a stay at home mom, a gardener, hotel clerk, clothing store employee, knitter.

Q3: What do you need to feel safe?

This one is really, really tough. But just write down whatever comes into your head. Remember nothing is too crazy!

MY ANSWERS:

Here are my answers. They are a little paraphrased because these things can get quite personal but here you are.

If money was no object what would you do?

First I would live in an RV for a few years and travel, experiencing different places. I would reinvest my money into profitable websites and earn from the profits passively.

Then I would buy a farm where I could grow my own organic vegetables, and look after retired dairy cows and other rescue animals, to give them a safe, loving life.

I would also build my dream eco house on that farm.

You can do any activity (or activities) in the world as a job but you will only ever be paid minimum wage no matter what you choose, what would you do?

It would be a mixture of small-scale farming, animal rescuing, people educating, eco developing homes.

What do you need to feel safe?

Enough space to grow veggies and be able to practice some form of self-sufficiency. Enough money to live off. People who love me.

Don’t worry if your answers don’t look anything like mine. It would be very weird if we all wanted the same out of life. They are just to give you an idea.

Next, we will turn those answers into actual lives we can work towards!

Identify Themes/Commonalities

Hopefully, a few themes should jump out at you when you look over your answers.

I’m going to identify the themes from my own answers so you understand what I mean as an example. But basically you are looking to see if a particular lifestyle or way if living becomes apparent.

Looking through my answers I can see that my main theme is growing veggies, being a caregiver to animals, and living on my own piece of farmland.

There is also the building of my own eco home which ties in with the whole homestead kind of lifestyle.

Okay, so that is clearly a lifestyle I am craving.

There is also a ‘bucket list’ item of RVing and traveling.

Plus there are two very important things from the need to feel safe question that haven’t been addressed yet.

Enough money to live off and people who love me.

Now in my eyes enough money to live off means I don’t have to earn any more money at all, I would already have enough to sustain me for as long as I live.

This is called financial independence something I really think everyone should aim for in some capacity.

People who love me, well what I’m referring to here is having a community of my family and friends.

Now some people may say this isn’t a money goal at all but I would disagree. You see I need to know that financially I am able to go visit and spend time with the people I love and who love me.

See how the main theme is living an eco, homestead-style life on my own farm where I am financially independent. But I also have a bucket list item I want to do (travel).

Creating Goals You Can Work Towards

Now it’s time to break this all down into things we can work towards. I can’t really tell you how to do this because each person’s goals will be so unique and there are many different ways of doing that same thing.

But I will demonstrate my own goals so you can see how I plan to do it and then hopefully you can create your own money goals.

I tend to try and write my goals in some form of chronological order, but if you prefer you can do it in order of your most important goal.

Goal One: Reach Financial Independence by earning money from my blog blog

Note how I pulled in the one activity I didn’t discuss earlier, educating people.

Also, this may seem like a big goal that encompasses too many aspects to some of you to be one goal.

However, I have already extensively developed my plan to reach financial independence separately and so feel comfortable having such a multifaceted objective as one goal.

But basically, I need to earn a decent wage and invest well, and blogging is how I intend to do it. You could break this goal down into small chunks if you prefer but that’s up to you.

Goal Two: RV/Travel

I almost want to get this goal done sooner rather than later just because the majority of my other goals involve developing a life in a fixed location (the farm).

Goal Three: Buy and live on a farm

This probably doesn’t need much explanation but it pretty much encompasses all of the other things I want from life.

Place A Monetary Number On Your Goals

Now it’s time to break the goal down and value it. Basically figure out how much money it’s going to take to complete!

It can feel a bit clinical to put a number on everything but I normally find it makes the goal seem much more attainable.

Also there may be things that look like you couldn’t put a number on it but try. For example one of my things was to be able to visit my friends and family.

Of course, I have actually factored this in with attaining financial independence but if you have this as a singular goal then you would want to work out how much it would cost to visit them to start with.

But then maybe you would want to stay for a month at a time so you need a job with good holiday or that allows you to remote work. See how the goal has developed.

Possibly, you will need a new job, a downpayment or a fund to get you going.

Think about what you truly want, how much money you’ll require, and the actual steps you need to get there.

Once again I will value my own goals to demonstrate the process.

How Are My Goals Valued?

Goal One: Reach Financial Independence by earning money with my blog

Using the 4% rule I know that to cover the bare minimum of my expenses I need to have $9,600 per year, which would be $240,000 saved and invested.

Ultimately I would like $40,000 available per year for my boyfriend and I to live a good life, again using the 4% rule this would be $1,000,000 saved and invested.

I worked out that the blog needs to be making $23,000 after tax each year for me to have $240,000 saved for financial independence in 10 years’ time (I already have some savings).

To have $1,000,000 saved for financial independence in 10 years time, the blog needs to be making $115,000 per year after tax.

Totally doable! (If you haven’t started your own income-generating blog yet, you can learn how to do it here).

Goal Two: RV and travel

So I just had a quick look on eBay and I’ve seen loads of RVs that look great for around $15,000. Well, that’s doable too!

Goal Three: Buy and live on a farm

Around where I live now we would be looking at $700,000 plus for the sort of mini farm I would want. We already have a house worth at least $250,000 (we have renovated it so should be worth more now) so I need an additional $450,000.

So my ultimate goals total money value is $1,482,000.

That’s not actually a crazy amount. Plus don’t forget that my minimum goals amount is $722,000.

Having gone through and put a money value on my goals I can see that I need to focus on saving significantly whilst increasing my income substantially.

Some of you may look at your goals and realize you actually are already in a place where you can start living your dream life. In which case you should go ahead and do it!

How To Get Your Money Goals Sorted – Conclusion

And there we have it! Just like that, you’re on your way to conquering those money goals. Remember, it’s all about taking those baby steps towards your financial dreams.

Whether it’s saving a little extra each month, cutting back on those impulse buys (we all have our moments), or just getting a clearer picture of where your money’s going – every bit counts.

Keep it fun, stay flexible, and don’t forget to give yourself a pat on the back as you hit those milestones.

Your future self will thank you for it, and who knows, maybe that dream holiday or shiny new gadget isn’t as far off as it seems. Happy saving and spending, and here’s to achieving all your money goals!

Now, try and think outside the box with some of your goals that seem impossible. Make them possible!

Have you done something crazy, unbelievable or really outside the box to realize a money goal?

Comment your money goals in the comment section below!