Have you ever had a huge money goal? Maybe you want to get out of debt, save up for a down payment, or grow your business. No matter what your money goal there are going to be times when it feels hopeless; when it’s hard; when you just want to give up. I’ve got 4 tried and true tricks to help you stay focused. Things we personally used to get ourselves out of debt, build an emergency fund and save up for a down payment.
1. Pick one money goal and stick to it
Have you ever noticed that when you focus on too many things you don’t get very far on any of them? If you’re simultaneously paying down your debt, saving for a house, saving for college, and investing you’re not going to get very far on any of them. However, if you get laser-focused on just one of those goals, and put everything you have towards it you’re going to make enormous progress. And it will be progress that you can actually see and feel. You’re going to stick to it because you can tell you’re really getting somewhere.
If you spread your efforts too thin you’re going to lose hope because it doesn’t feel like you’ve made any progress. The key to staying focused on your money goals is to have one at a time.
This is exactly how my husband and I got out of debt. We were laser-focused on just that goal, so we temporarily stopped investing, stopped building an emergency fund and stopped saving for a down payment. We put every last dime we had towards getting out of debt and we did it in just over 18 months. Sticking to one goal helped us get it done so we could move on to the next one. And now we never have to think about that goal again.
2. Track your progress and celebrate your successes
The only way to know if you’re truly making progress on a money goal is to track it. You have to write out where you’re going and track the progress to get there. When we paid off our debt we had a thermometer on our bedroom door and we filled it in every time we hit the next milestone. It was motivating to see how far we had come and how much closer we were to our goal.
For my business, I have a whiteboard where I track how many clients I need to be able to support my household. X clients will pay my mortgage, Y clients will pay for health insurance, etc. I can see exactly how much farther I need to go to be able to work in my business full time. It’s incredibly motivating. And I get to update it every time I sign a new client, it helps me to celebrate my progress.
3. Remind yourself why
What is driving your big money goal? Why did you pick this specific goal? What does it mean to you and your future? Reminding yourself why you picked this money goal helps you to stay focused, even when things seem hard. It’s the inspiration and motivation to keep moving, to keep striving for that goal. Your why is super important. Keep it top of mind every day.
4. Write out your money goal
One of the best ways to keep yourself focused on your goal is to write it down every day. But don’t just write it down as a want, write it down as if it has already happened and describe it in detail.
“Vividly describing your goals in written form is strongly associated with goal success, and people who very vividly describe or picture their goals are anywhere from 1.2 to 1.4 times more likely to successfully accomplish their goals” (https://www.forbes.com/sites/markmurphy/2018/04/15/neuroscience-explains-why-you-need-to-write-down-your-goals-if-you-actually-want-to-achieve-them/#4e6971d57905)
Stay focused on your big money goal (or any other goal) by writing it down.
When you focus on one goal, track your progress, celebrate your successes, remind yourself why, and write it down every day you’ll find it much easier to stick to your big money goals. Even when it feels hopeless.
