We’ve had a few people come to us to get their tax returns done recently, and when talking about their financial goals, we’ve been told that they can’t get started on their financial plan because of so many factors outside their control or their debt is too big to see any way out.
Some of these people have come from a background where they grew up with very little money whilst others have got an amazing paying job and still think that they can’t possibly create savings.
Now I’m here to say that it doesn’t matter how big or audacious your goal is, you can start NOW! Rome wasn’t built in a day but it was built one block at a time, so that’s what I’m saying about your goals.
This week, we talk about some strategies that can get you into action rather than inaction towards reaching your goals.
In too deep and can’t seem to get out?
Some people are in a lot of debt – be it credit card, personal loan, tax debt or home loan or a combination of all these! When you’re in this situation, the stress can be daunting and seeing a way out can be near to impossible.
In understand that sometimes, finding the clarity and guidance in what steps you can take to move forward can be really expensive if you go out to find yourself a Financial Advisor.
There are however ways you can get this advice and guidance in a really simple, cost effective way. In fact you can get this valuable advice and practical guidance for $5 via an ebook or $19 at Big W.
What?!?
I seriously cannot recommend Scott Pape’s book “The Barefoot Investor” enough.
Updated in September 2017, with a new release and anybody that knows me has been hearing me bang on about this book for months.
Seriously, it is the best $20 that you will spend and I can guarantee that if you follow the steps in this process that $20 will be compounded into hundreds of dollars of savings every year!
Go get the book and get onto the path of getting yourself out of debt!
Progress NOT perfection
The second thing that I would really suggest you do is look at your big audacious goal and figure out what you can do today to get you one step closer to achieving it.
Now, action is better than in-action and as my other favourite person Marie Forleo would say, successful goal achievement is all about Progress NOT Perfection.
We all can get stuck in wanting things to be perfect, but if you look at successful people it’s because they’ve have the courage to get started and do things with trial and error. They’ve got projects done rather than ongoing.
Take heart that you know exactly where you’re going and put that action in place.
It doesn’t have to be a big action but it needs to be something that is driving you forward to reaching that goal.
For example, if you want to get out of debt the first thing to do is to chop up that credit card (and delete the number from your online spending accounts).
Why? Because the temptation is too great to use it (rather than pay it off).
If your goal is to save a deposit for a house, then setup a savings account, and automatic transfer. Every time you get paid put 40% of your pay towards that savings account and live off the rest (you’ve chopped up that credit card – right??).
Share your goal
The second step to getting towards your goal is to tell people about it!
Seriously, the more people that you tell about your big audacious goal the more it keeps you accountable towards achieving it because people who love and care about you will ask you how that goal is going when they next see you!
It doesn’t matter if it’s a goal about financial wellbeing or your physical well being. Whatever your goal is – it’s important that you create an environment of support. You’ve got to encourage people to be around you to know and be positive about the goal that you’re working towards – so that when the goal seems to hard or too easy to give up, they can encourage you to get back on track.
Now, none of this goal achievement is supposed to take all the fun away from life – in fact the opposite is true. The more fun you have towards achieving your goal and turning it into a game the quicker you will achieve it.
Get started now!
Tell us about your big audacious goal and what steps you’re going to do today to get it started in the comments below!