« To Be Debt Free You Must… Get Specific! | Home | Attack of the Killer Zombie Debts! »
To Be Debt Free You Must… Get Goal Oriented!
This is a continuation of my previous posts on what it takes to be debt free.
The previous posts include how and why you must:
“Get Organized!” and “Get Specific!” .
Challenge Yourself!
Your goal is to be debt free, now what is your plan to get there?
The path you set before yourself should be one that challenges, motivates, and is attainable. If you look at your your current expenses, and you realize that you have a net cash flow of $200 (after you pay off your bills, pay your rent, and eat some food), you can set a goal to pay an extra $150 a month.
That goal would be both attainable, and challenging!
Milestones!
You should have milestones set for every stage in your debt free journey.
A milestone is more than just assigning goals to time periods. You need to assign accomplishments!
Of these two goals, which sounds better to you?
By my birthday, I would like to pay off my American Express Card.
By June 15th, I would like to have paid $1500 to Bank of America.
The power of ‘personal’ goals.
The first goal is personal (by your birth day) and lists an accomplishment (paid off credit card). In contrast, the second is impersonal, and doesn’t mention Bank of America would become a Paid-In-Full account.
The Paid-In-Full account is an important piece of gaining a sense of accomplishment. Even if the $1500 means Band of America is paid off, not specifying the result of the $1500 would make it seem like less of an accomplishment.
Set the goals you want!
Goals can become a very important piece of your future financial success.
They not only motivate you to become debt free, but they guide you to use your money for things that are important to you… not just what looks good when you see it.
Topics: Budget, Motivation, To Be Debt Free |
January 8th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
[...] “Get Organized!” , “Get Specific!” , and “Get Goal Oriented”. [...]