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2.1.4.

F1

Se ngFinancialGoals
AdvancedLevel
Hassomethingbeneficialeverhappenedtoyouwithnoeortonyourpart?Maybeyouwonaprizeinadrawingor
receivedextrabirthdaymoneyfromarela ve.Thereisapossibilitythatgoodthingshavecomeyourwayby
coincidence.But,howlikelyisittoreceiveanAonatestwithoutstudying?Or,howlikelyisittobeatyouropponent
insportswithoutworkinghardinprac ce?Mostgoodthingsaretheresultofeortanddisciplineonyourpart.

Throughoutlifewefindourselvesconstantlyse ng
personalgoals.Agoalissomethingapersonintendsto
acquire,achieve,oraccomplishinthefuture.Se nggoals
helpsyouplanhowtomakethelifeyouwanttolivea
reality.Reachinggoalshelpsustodeterminethedegreeof
successweveachievedinlife.Se nggoalsispar cularly
importantforfutureoutcomesthatwilltakealotof
thought,planning, meandeorttoachieve.

Se ngfinancialgoalsisanintegralpartoffinancial
planning,theprocessofmanagingmoneycon nuously
throughoutyourlife.Financialgoalswillhelptoguideyour
shortandlongtermspendingdecisionsbecausetheyforce
youtoiden fypriori es.Financialgoalsgiveyourfinancial
planaspecificdirec on.

Whatisonefinancialgoalyouwouldliketoachieve?

I want to buy a dog that can go into the stores and be my play mate

Youaremorelikelytoachieveyour
desiredoutcomeifyourgoalse ngis
builtaroundSMARTgoals.SMART
goalsmaybewri enforjustabout
anyobjec veincludingyour
educa on,careerorhealth(suchas
fitnessorweightloss).ASMART
financialgoalincludestheseelements:

Didyouknowthatgoalsthatare
wri endownaremuchmorelikely
tobeachievedthanmentalgoals?

TakeChargeTodayAugust2013Se ngFinancialGoalsPage1
FundedbyagrantfromTakeChargeAmerica,Inc.totheNortonSchoolofFamilyandConsumerSciencesTakeChargeAmericaIns tuteatTheUniversityofArizona

2.1.4.F1

W
pecific
Aspecificgoalhasaclearly
definedendresult.When
wri ngaSMARTfinancial
goalstateexactlywhatplan
youhaveforthemoney
involved.

Lacey
wrote
the
followinggoal."Iwillreduce
mydebt."Thisgoallacks
specificity.
Aspecificstatementofthis
goalwouldbeIwillreduce
theamountIoweonmycar
loan.

SMARTF
easurable

Ameasurablegoalisoneforwhich
youcaneasilydeterminewhenthe
goalhasbeenmetandwhetheryou
aremakingprogresstowardits
comple on.Whenwri ngaSMART
financialgoal,statetheexactdollar
amountinvolved.
Laceysgoalof,Iwillreduce

theamountIoweonmycarloanis
notameasurable goalbecausethe
verbreduceisvague.
IwillreducetheamountIoweon
mycarloanby$1,000isa
measurableSMARTgoalbecause
Laceyhasstatedaspecificdollar
amount.

ealis c
Beingawareofyourresourcesandwhatyouwillhavetogiveupinorder
toachieveyourgoalwillhelpyoudetermineifthatgoalisrealisc.
Whenwri ngaSMARTfinancialgoal,examinetheconsequencesofyour
goalintermsofitsopportunitycosts,thatis,thevalueofthenextbest
alterna vethatyouwillgiveupasaresultofyourplan.Areyouwilling
togiveupwhatisnecessarytoachieveyourgoal?

ainable

Anaainablegoalisonethatyouknowis
possibletoachieve.Whenwri nga
SMARTfinancialgoalcreateastepbystep
planthatoutlinesexactlyhowthegoalcan
bereached.
Laceysgoalstatement,Iwillreduce
theamountIoweonmycarloanby
$1,000,isnot aainableifLaceycannot
determineexactlyhowshewillreduceher
loanamountby$1000.
LaceywroteaSMARTgoalwhenshestated,
IwillreducetheamountIoweonmycar
loanby$1,000bypayinganextra$100/
monthThisSMARTgoalis aainable
becauseLaceyiden fiedherwillingnessto
applyanextra$100eachmonthtowardthe
balanceofhercarloaninsteadofother
expenses.

imeBound
A meboundgoalsimplymeansyoull
achieveyourgoalwithinacertain
meframe.
LaceywroteaSMARTgoalwhenshe
stated,IwillreducetheamountIoweon
mycarloanby$1,000in10monthsby
payinganextra$100permonth.Shehas
boundhergoalwithina meframeof10
months.

Laceysgoalofpayinganextra$100amonthtowardhercarloanis
realis conlyifsheiswillingtogiveuptheotherthingsshecouldhaveor
dowiththat$100eachmonth.ThesetradeosarespecifictoLaceyand
willdependonhervalues.Ul mately,aspecific,measurableand
a ainablegoalwillfailifapersonisnotwillingtos ckwiththefinancial
plantoachieveit.Se ngaSMARTgoalinvolvesiden fyingand
evalua ngthetradeosandopportunitycostsandcommi ng
LaceysSMARTgoalbecomes,Iwillreduce
totheplan.
theamountIoweonmycarloanby$1,000in10
monthsbypayinganextra$100permonth.
TakeChargeTodayAugust2013Se ngFinancialGoalsPage2
FundedbyagrantfromTakeChargeAmerica,Inc.totheNortonSchoolofFamilyandConsumerSciencesTakeChargeAmericaIns tuteatTheUniversityofArizona

2.1.4.F1

Refertothefinancialgoalyouindicatedonpageone.RewritethisgoaltoincludeallelementsofasuccessfulSMART
goal:

ToachieveyourfinancialSMARTgoalyoumustmanageandmonitoryourprogresstoensureitssuccess.Thisisoneof
themostimportantpartsofgoalse ng.Belowaresome psthatwillhelpyoumanageanda ainyourgoals.
FrequentlyEvaluateYourGoals

SetaRealis cGoal

Eventsmighthappenthatgetinthewayofreaching
yourgoal.Ifthishappens,considerallofyour
op ons.Shouldyouchangeyourgoal?Canyou
reduceormanagetheobstaclesthatareinterfering
withyouachievingyourgoal?Ifyoureconsidering
givinguponyourgoal,tryrewri ngitfirsttodeal
withthefactorsthatarege nginyourway.
Successfulgoalachievementreliesonyourabilityto
refocus,rewriteyourgoalifnecessaryandeliminate
barrierstosuccess.
RewardYourselfforReachingYourGoal

Reachingyourgoalshouldbearewardinitself.
However,some mesweliketocelebrateour
achievementswithaddi onalrewards.Knowingyoure
goingtogiveyourselfanaddi onalrewardupon
achievingyourgoalcanbeanaddi onalmo vator.If
othershavehelpedyoureachyourgoalinvitethemto
joinyouinthecelebra onaswell.

VisittheConsumerJunglewebsite
www.consumerjungle.orgtoaccessgoal
se ngwebsites.

Ifyoufindthatyouarehavingadicult mereaching
yourgoal,checktoseeifyourgoalisrealis c.O en,
op mis cgoalse ngcreatesanunrealis cgoal.Your
goalmayrequiremore meormoneythanyouhave
available.Or,yourgoalmayrequireyoutogiveuptoo
muchofsomethingelse(theopportunitycostofyour
tradeoistoohigh).Thebestgoalrequireseortand
disciplineonyourpartbutwillneverthelessoerahigh
chanceofsuccess.A erall,successiswhatyouarea er
notfailure.
MakeYourGoalPublic

Tohelpyoumanageandachieveyourgoal,consider
makingyourgoalpublic.Herearesomewaystodothat:
Shareyourgoalwithyourfamilyandfriendsandask
themtoholdyouaccountable.Yourfamilyandfriends
canthensupportyourdecisionsthatleadtothe
achievementofyourgoal.
Useasupportgroup.Forexample,peoplewhoare
tryingtoloseweighto enfindithelpfultobelongtoa
supportgroupofpeoplewhoaretryingtoaccomplish
thesamegoal.
Useagoalse ngwebsiteorapptotrackyourgoaland
holdyouaccountable.Thesesiteso enallowyouto
compareyourprogresswithpeoplewhohavesimilar
goals.Somegoalse ngwebsitesoertheop onto
makeyourgoalpublic.

Whataretwomethodsthatwouldbehelpfultoyouinmanagingandmonitoringyourgoal?

Saving money and not spending on worthless stuff that don't work at all.

TakeChargeTodayAugust2013Se ngFinancialGoalsPage3
FundedbyagrantfromTakeChargeAmerica,Inc.totheNortonSchoolofFamilyandConsumerSciencesTakeChargeAmericaIns tuteatTheUniversityofArizona

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