Meeting your ideal financial situation in life doesn’t need to remain a dream. Every day, we work to help our clients achieve their desired lifestyles and strive for financial success. While success looks different for everyone, the way to arrive at financial success remains the same — to set financial goals.

It can be easy to dismiss goal setting as simply the ideas you have floating in the back of your mind. We explore the power of setting financial goals and how taking your ideas from the back of your head to the front of your mind can help you reach your desired financial destination.

The benefits of goal setting 

As Financial Planners, we understand the power of planning — but studies also back up the idea that people, regardless of their income or existing level of wealth, are more financially successful when they set goals and plan effectively.

Psychology proves that setting goals not only guides focus and helps sustain the momentum towards achieving what you set out to, but it can actually trigger new behaviours. So often, we hear of clients who feel like they need to break free from their existing financial behavioural patterns; what better way to do this than to trigger new psychological behaviours and approaches to finance than setting goals!

Setting clear, defined and measurable goals should be the very first step in paving the path toward a successful financial future. Your financial goals provide the ultimate framework and foundation to guide your investment decisions. It also allows us, as financial planning professionals, to provide you with tailored advice that helps guide you to meet your financial goals. After all, how could we help you meet your financial goals if you don’t have any goals to begin with?

Achieving your wildest dreams

To dream of the future is part of the human experience. Setting goals, however, is vastly different from having dreams. For example, you may dream about retiring early, travelling and upgrading to your dream car. While this is an idyllic dream, it remains vague: how do you suppose you’ll get there?

How to set effective goals

The goal-setting acronym S.M.A.R.T. is, indeed, a smart approach to ensure that you have goals, not merely dreams. 

S – Smart

M – Measurable

A – Attainable

R – Relevant

T – Time-Based

By taking the S.M.A.R.T. approach to goal setting, you can turn that same dream into something that looks and sounds more like “I want to retire on my 54th birthday, with ____ amount of money to be able to buy ____ car. I will then have _____ of yearly income and will take two trips per year at a total cost of _________”. Suddenly, it takes your dream and puts concrete timelines and figures in place to work towards.

The specific, measurable, relevant and time-based goals are now laid out on paper — the next step is to assess whether they are ‘attainable’. That’s where pmw Plus can help!

How to ensure you reach your financial goals

Reaching your goals takes time, planning and persistence — and sometimes, the goal posts move! That’s all a part of the journey. The best way to ensure you meet your financial goals, is to work with a financial planning professional who can help you change your strategy as your circumstances change and goal posts move. 

At pmw Plus, it is our goal to help you achieve your life goals. Our team of experienced, certified financial planners and wealth creation specialists use tried-and-tested processes to ensure that the financial plan they develop for you considers all of your goals and can help turn your dreams into reality.

Whether it’s for savings planning, retirement planning, personal insurance, superannuation or investment, accessing professional financial advice can be the difference between meeting or falling short of your goals.

If you’d like to learn more about how our team of financial planners can help, call us today.