Goal setting in an uncertain world

For many of us, today marks the end of a long weekend, maybe a holiday, or just the end of a covid lockdown if you’re like us and live in Brisbane. For me though, today marks one year of working with Bounce Financial. Funnily enough, I started this job in a similar sort of situation and worked my first few weeks from Ben and Cara’s house. Fast forward 11 months of working at the office, lots of emails, asking questions, and a couple donuts here and there, and here I am. I thought it was about time I started contributing.

While I could write a long list here about all the things I’ve learnt over the past year, I wanted to talk more generally- first about the benefits and significance of having a plan.

It seems simple. You have your goals: Buy a nice car, retire at 50, and live the high life. These are great! You know what you want. The question is how are you going to get there? How are you going to cope when things don’t go as planned?

When I started this job, I didn’t have a plan. I just took every opportunity I got and rolled with it. Working with Ben and Cara has really made me realise the importance of planning things out and making sure I am on track to achieve the goals I have for myself.

This can really be simplified into three steps:

1. Set your goals.

What do you want to achieve? The first step is to take a moment to establish the purpose of your plan. Write down your goals. Tell a friend. Whether your goals are small or big, make sure you know what you’re aiming for- and think about the ways you can move towards the end goal. Write those pathways and smaller milestones down too.

2. Reflect regularly.

Set aside time once a week, once a month, or whatever time frame works for you to reflect on your progress. What you did well; What you could improve on etc. This is often a difficult step, especially when it comes to money. No one likes looking back on their bank transactions to be reminded that they spent $500 at Kmart instead of putting that money towards saving for a house deposit. But, you should celebrate your small victories and track your progress. Remind yourself of your goals, and don’t dwell on your failures. The objective of this step is to keep yourself accountable and motivated.

3. Know when to re-assess.

Life is ever-changing, and your plan may not always remain the same as it was to begin with. You might lose your job, have a baby, or a worldwide pandemic might come out of nowhere. Maybe, you just decide that the timeframe that you set yourself wasn’t realistic. Knowing when to persist and when to re-assess your plan is important. There is no use in beating yourself up for not being able to achieve a now unrealistic goal. If something isn’t working, adjust it, set new goals and continue. You’ll keep moving towards whatever it is that you want to achieve even if you have to endure some minor setbacks.

This seems like a super simple concept, but I think it’s something that many of us struggle with, especially when it comes to our finances. We at Bounce want to encourage you this week to make a plan. Write down some goals, utilise budgeting tools, maybe speak to one of us – because we want to see you succeed! What is your plan?!

This post is from our resident Paraplanner Holly Hellinga, check out her details in the About Us section.

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Posted in: Holly Hellinga, Budgeting