We share the secrets that have helped business moguls, country leaders and sporting legends get to the top of their game - and show you how to put them into action for your finances.
Wishful thinking doesn’t work.
Wanting something isn’t enough to make it happen.
Daydreaming isn’t going to get you where you need to be – but it does give you a place to start.
So what’s the secret?
You only need 3 things to turn your daydreams – financial and otherwise - into a reality:
1: A goal
Setting realistic, clearly defined goals is the key to making things happen.
It turns your daydreams into something tangible that you can work towards.
It helps you to set priorities so you know what you want out of life.
It gives you motivation to succeed.
It makes it easier to work out what you need to do, where to focus your effort, and what not to waste your time on.
This is especially true when it comes to making the most of your money.
Lets look at an example:
Say, you have £2,000 on credit cards that you’re struggling to clear. You want to settle the debt so that you can save for a deposit on a house, afford a summer holiday or get a new car. But you only ever make minimum repayments and keep on spending more. Evidently just wanting to pay off your credit cards isn’t working so you need a different approach.
Instead, turning your desire to clear your credit cards into a tangible goal instantly gives you something to work towards.
However, while deciding ‘I want to clear my credit cards’ is a step in the right direction, to maximise your chance of achieving this financial goal you should:
a) Make your goal specific:
The more specific your goal, the more likely you’ll be able to make it happen, so clarify your goal with dates, times and amounts. This will make it easier to work towards and, more importantly, easier to stick to because you’ll be able to track your progress, measure – and celebrate - your successes and clearly see what you have left to do.
For example: I want to pay off the £2,000 I owe on my Virgin credit card in 18 months.
b) Make it realistic
There’s no point setting a goal that you won’t ever be able to achieve, you’d just be wasting your time trying – paying off your mortgage in the next year may not be realistic if you still owe £100,000 for instance. So think about where you are now and set your goal accordingly – it needs to be enough of a challenge to motivate you, but not so impossible that you can’t do it.
For example: I want to pay off my £100,000 mortgage in the next 10 years.
c) Write it down
Putting your goal on paper (or in print) helps to give you focus and motivation. Better still, write down why you want to achieve your goal so you have a constant reminder of how much better things will be once you achieve it.
2: A plan of action
Once you’ve decided on your goals, you need to break them down into manageable steps. This stops the bigger picture from becoming too overwhelming because you can clearly see what you’ve accomplished so far, what you have left to do and what you need to be doing right now. When it comes to your financial goals we’ve done the hard work for you.
We’ve broken the most popular financial goals down into a series of do-able bite-sized chunks (we call them tasks) for you to work through, and given you all the information and resources you need to be able to complete them.
You can tick each task off your ‘to do’ list as you finish it, and we’ll help you to track your progress through each step and through your goal overall with progress bars so you stay motivated!
Every single task you complete towards your goal is as important as the last and you need to celebrate these mini-successes accordingly.
3:A support network
If you’re serious about making your financial goals a reality it’s likely that you’ll need to make some changes to your spending habits and perhaps your lifestyle in general. So a strong support network is arguably essential.
It’s important that you have family and friends on side to give you the encouragement you need to put your financial goals into action. So tell them what your plans are, what you’re hoping to accomplish and how you’re going to make it happen.
To better your chances still further, my money gives you something extra – it puts you in direct contact with other people who are working towards, or have already achieved the same financial goal as you.
This means you get instant support from other members who understand the challenges you face and, in many cases, have the experience and knowledge to help you overcome them.
my money gives you a place to ask the questions you need to, get the support, advice and motivation you need to stay on track and celebrate your successes with people who really appreciate what you’ve accomplished.
Realising your financial goals isn’t always going to be quick, it isn’t always going to be easy, but providing you have motivation, a plan of action and encouragement from others, you will be able to do it – and with the help of money.co.uk and the my money community, your journey to success will be that much more attainable and enjoyable!
