How do you eat an elephant?

Have you ever heard the saying, “How do you eat an elephant”?

The answer is simple yet obvious:

One bite at a time.

It’s like your short-term and long-term goals, with a big emphasis on the last one.

Planning your long-term goals can seem like climbing a mountain, but realistically, people who climb mountains train for it, and they train for it by planning.

So, what are your long-term goals?

…Do you have a plan

You can probably see where I’m going with this.

You can tackle your goal-setting by planning, and you can do it one step at a time (no fork and knife needed).

Sit down with pen and paper, shut off all distractions, and have a copy of your current budget in hand.

Make it specific. A goal shouldn’t be vague. You can say, “I want to save for a vacation,” but that’s not detailed enough. What kind of vacation? With whom? When? What will you be doing? Why do you want the vacation?

Make it measurable. If your goal is lofty, be sure to break it down into chunks. Coming up with a large lump sum is difficult. Check your existing budget and see how much you can afford to sock away for your trip and start there. A specific number will make it much easier to stay on track and accountable.

Make it timely. If you don’t have a deadline for your goal, it’ll never happen. Set a date for when you’d like to reach that goal, and it’s okay to leave a little wiggle room. “I’d like to have the money set aside by no later than the end of September so I can have everything booked and paid for by October 1st.”

What if you have a lot of goals (look at you, getting all lofty!)? It might be hard to plan and prioritize those goals.

Maybe you’re not sure where to start, or you’re worried you might make the wrong decisions and set yourself back financially. Let’s have a 15-minute chat and book a 15-minute consultation and you’ll be down to that last bite of elephant in no time.