Too many people dream of becoming a millionaire but have no real plan for how to achieve it. Well, you can?t become a millionaire just by dreaming, wanting, or wishing for wealth. As you develop the framework for your millionaire?s budget, think about planning for the future and reaching some of your bigger goals. So many times we get caught up in daily tasks and activities that we forget about setting substantive goals for the future. But in order to accrue substantial wealth, it?s essential that you write out your short-, medium-, and long-range goals. Some of you may not have thought about your own goals much lately. Perhaps your life has been consumed by your children?s world; their needs and wants always come first, and you constantly put your desires on the back burner. It?s a mistake to do that. Financially speaking, you can get yourself so wrapped up in another person?whether that individual is your child, partner, or parent?that you neglect yourself and fail to engage in smart, practical financial planning. You don?t want to look up 20 years from now and think that you should have managed your money better when you were younger.
To immediately improve how you handle your finances and make a giant leap toward becoming a millionaire, one of the most important things you can do is to write out your personal goals. This one act alone will help you build a foundation for a lifetime of wealth. If you are married or in a committed relationship, I suggest you do this exercise with your partner. Write your individual goals first, and then share your goals with the other person. Ultimately, we are all individuals with our own unique dreams and ambitions. Yet, for those of us involved with significant others, it?s crucial that you make a habit of setting? and reaching?your goals together.
I want you to think of your goals in the context of how long it will be before these goals can be realized. Short-term goals should be something that you can accomplish in a relatively brief period of time, say in one to two years, at most. Medium-term goals can be classified as those that require two to ten years to accomplish. Long-range goals are those that require ten years or more to fulfill. To jump start your thinking, I?ve included a laundry list of goals below. Some of these may be relevant to you; others may hold no significance. The idea, however, is to give yourself permission to focus on the things you want to accomplish in the future?goals you may never have acknowledged to yourself, let alone written down or verbalized to someone else. Among the goals you might pursue are:
- Eliminating credit card debt.
- Buying a new home.
- Saving for a college education.
- Investing for retirement.
- Starting a business.
- Establishing a cash cushion.
- Paying for a wedding.
- Saving for a new baby.
- Purchasing a vacation home.
- Traveling around the world.
- Buying a boat.
- Paying off student loans.
- Making a large contribution to church, synagogue, etc.
- Buying a new car or a second car.
One of the most important things you can do to reach your goal of becoming a millionaire is to write out your personal goals.
The Write Way
No matter what your goals, you should know that writing out your plans gives you a far better shot at making them happen. In fact, written goal-setting is a phenomenally powerful act as demonstrated by a number of high-profile cases.
A compelling example of the power of written goal-setting is represented in a 1979 survey of Harvard University students which found that 84 percent of them did not set goals. Another 13 percent of them did set goals, but didn?t bother to write them down. And only 3 percent of the graduating class had written goals and an action plan. Ten years later, researchers resurveyed the group. The 13 percent with unwritten goals were earning double the income of those with no goals. But here?s the whopper: the 3 percent of the student population with written goals earned 10 times as much as the other 97 percent!
Clearly, written goals are important. But do you realize how it is that written goals are able to propel you to reach success? Here are a few reasons why goal-setting works: