It’s that time of year when we clean out the junk in our house, take stock of where we are, and maybe make a few goals and plans for the coming year! I love to plan, but I’ve learned that nothing happens by accident. The best way to move incrementally toward the life you envision for yourself is to create SMART goals.

SMART goals are:

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Relevant

Time Bound

SMART GoalNot SMART Goal
SpecificI want to grow my retirement assets so that I can retire at 60.I want to be rich
MeasurableI want to grow my retirement assets to $2M to be able to retire at 60 by saving 30k per year.I want to save more this year
AttainableI want to grow my retirement assets to $2M to be able to retire at 60 by saving 30k per year (which is 15% of my income)I’m gonna save like 90% of my income
RelevantI want to grow my retirement assets to $2M to be able to retire at 60 by saving 30k per year (which is 15% of my income) so that I’ll have time and freedom to do the things I most enjoy (art, being outside, time with grandkids, etc.)I want to be rich because more money is always better
Time BoundI want to grow my retirement assets to $2M to be able to retire at 60 by saving 30k per year (which is 15% of my income) so that I’ll have time and freedom to do the things I most enjoy (art, being outside, time with grandkids, etc.). I need to save $2500 per month to meet this goal. I will set up an automatic monthly contribution starting in January.It’s only January, so I’ll start looking at saving more later in the year.

What goals do you have for 2023? How can you incrementally move toward the life you envision?

Posted in 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, Budget, Financial Planning, Life Goals, Retirement, Saving, Young Families

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