How to Set Realistic Financial Goals and Actually Stick To Them
Tulix Team
At a time when we can’t help but gasp at how much prices keep rising every single day, it’s never been more important to manage our money better day-to-day. While financial stability feels like a rumour in this economy, setting realistic financial goals can help us stay afloat. One way to do this is by aligning our values and ambitions with our spending.
Your Money, Your Goals
It’s not enough to save, you need to go beyond setting money aside for the future and tap into “conscious spending”.
“Conscious spending is all about spending extravagantly on the things you love, as long as you cut costs mercilessly on the things you don’t. It’s not about restriction. It’s about being intentional with your money and then spending on the things you love guilt-free” -Ramit Sethi, Author of ‘I Will Teach You to Be Rich’
Think about your life right now—what do you enjoy doing? Where do you spend most of your time and what are you often doing? Who do you spend the most time with? When you think of joy, freedom and stability what comes to mind?
Now walk backwards. Try pinpointing what parts of your current life align with this vision and the money decisions that sustain those parts of your life.
On the flip side, what parts are missing from your life currently and where do you need to start directing your money in order to make these missing parts a reality? This is how you set realistic financial goals you can actually stick with.
Let’s see this in action.
James: Music’s In My Soul
James is a recent university graduate who’s always been passionate about music and spends most of his time playing his guitar and writing songs. For James, joy, freedom, and stability look like him creating his own music and performing worldwide without relying on a traditional ‘9-to-5 job’.
What is he already doing towards achieving this goal? Playing music every day, writing new songs and sharing them with friends, building a social media following and playing small local events.
What more can he do? Invest in music lessons, upgrade his equipment, find an agent to help him book more gigs and get media outreach, and continue saving as much as he can towards the tools he needs to achieve his goals. Each goal needs to have a specific target with flexible timelines so that they are realistic and actionable. Additionally, he can work part-time as a copywriter to supplement his income as he establishes his music career.
For James, the dream is to tour the world while supporting himself and his loved ones through his music career—Tulix Jars can help him get there. Read on to see how.
Managing Money James’ Way
A bit like mason jars in the kitchen, Tulix Jars provide a clearer way to manage your money so you get more bang for your buck.
James can create a Jar for his music lessons and equipment upgrades, a second Jar for fuel when he goes to gigs and a third Jar for his everyday expenses like food and bills. With these Jars, he can stay within budget, track his spending and make adjustments as needed.
Having a clear life goal you can attach your money to helps you feel more confident about the trajectory of your life because you compare yourself less to others and judge others less for their lifestyles. You’re also able to accept or decline requests that can impact the time and resources you’ve allocated towards achieving your goals.
James is directing money towards his music career and is on course to achieving his dream. What realistic financial goals can steer you towards your dream life and how will you stick to them?