We all make resolutions at the beginning of the year, but they typically end up being forgotten by the time February rolls around. One reason for this is that we frequently set goals that are too ambitious to accomplish. This is especially true when it comes to financial goals and our expectations versus actions, versus reality. Too many variable at play in the financial scenario causing our resolutions and plans to derail.
For instance, you might have a plan to set aside a certain amount of your income each month in order to reach a certain corpus goal by the end of the year. Unfortunately, an unforeseen and uncovered emergency occurs diverting your corpus and future savings towards this goal to meet the incurred expense. Instances such as these often occur in various forms and tend to derail our financial plans. Hence to ensure you make a robust plan for the future these are a few money resolutions that could help you achieve your financial targets for 2023.
Realistic Achievable Goals
Either you set overly challenging goals that are unachievable right away, or moderately easy ones that you quickly get bored with. Goal setting requires effort and insight. Effort to deep-dive and understand the in’s and out’s of your objective and its achievability, for instance expecting a 20% ROI in the short term when fixed investments are offering approx 6% interest and markets are in the midst of a downturn may be unrealistic.
Realistic objectives are essential. It is ok to shoot for the moon as long as you are covered even if you land near the stars. It is ok to set unachievable financial goals too at times, as long as your future does not totally depend on the financial outcome. For instance setting a target for a 50 Lakh corpus required to pay your child’s tuition fee for further studies at the end of the year. Compare that to a 50 lakh goal to invest in your 10 year old’s future education plans 5 years later.
Are all your money goals realistic?
Confront your debt
We have a tendency to put off the difficult tasks until later. But that’s not the best thing to do especially if your difficult taks is clearing debt that is accumulates interest. Tackle your debt by first filtering them by timeframe, interest payable and total values. Based on what you owe and how you are placed in terms of surplus payable cash, pick a method or logical approach where you choose which debt can or should be cleared first. You could choose to filter and line up them in terms of high interest, high tenure or total value first and then move to the next.
If you do not intend to begin the new year in debt and are yet to figure out how to make adjustments to your budget, becuase getting your finances in order should be your top priority. Here we cover how loan repayments should be planned for you to better manage your finances.
Plan for budget shocks
A lot of people have been caught off guard by inflation and the rise in the cost of living generally, so be prepared for budget surprises. For those whose lavish lifestyles were a spoke in the wheel of their savings, the pandemic-induced lockdown has served as a useful wake-up call. Hence, ensure you have your income, expenses and savings accurately budgeted to suit your goals and money needs.
Check ahead for goals that are due in the short term in 2023 and how your investments are performing to achieve those goals. Another vital consideration is the possibility that volatile markets may eventually cause even carefully constructed investment portfolios to become unbalanced. By consistent checks and rebalancing investors can ensure their portfolios stay balanced and are hedged against market volatility.
Stick to the plan
A resolution’s first month is frequently the most difficult, but if you can get through it, your chances of making the change permanent greatly increase. You really need to concentrate and buckle down if you want to still be going strong by February because unfortunately, 1 in 3 people won’t even make it through the first 31 days. Your resolution’s success depends on two key elements: the quality of the goals you’ve set and your commitment to achieving them. Create a methodical approach to achieve your goals, the clarity of your plan will ensure clarity in deciphering what it will tae for you to achieve your goals.
Conclusion
Have you ever wondered why people find the idea of new year’s resolutions to be so appealing?
It is straightforward because if you don’t have a goal, you could spend your entire life running around the field without ever scoring (pun intended). Living a life driven by purpose begins with setting goals and working excruciatingly hard to achieve them. Therefore, while the beginning of the year may be a good time to set goals, make goal-setting an essential part of your life by including it in all of your endeavors, from financial planning to gaining life experiences and adding life skills and more.
