By Staying on track with your financial plan
By now, 2014 is in full swing for most of us. The Christmas decorations have been removed and plans for the new year are underway. Personally, I have made some remarkable changes in my life already this year. First, I finally got around to cancelling the gym membership I bought five years ago (most of you are probably surprised that I even had a gym membership in the first place!). I also recently polished off what remained of a box of chocolates from Christmas. Now that those sweets are gone, I’m feeling deprived of chocolate and very thankful that Valentine’s Day is coming soon!
This year I intentionally did not make any New Year’s resolutions. I have, however, been able to reflect back on 2013 and take some time to consider what I want 2014 to look like for my family and my business. If you did make a New Year’s resolution, there’s a good chance that you may have broken it by now. Not to worry! You made it one step further than me! Reality is, the coming of a new year does not drastically change our lives. It can, however, be a good checkpoint for making sure you’re on track.
It’s not too late to start thinking about where you’d like to be and how to get there. The first question I would like to pose to you is this: What do you want for you and your family in 2014? Consider the answer, and then commit it to paper. After you’ve listed some tangible goals, consider the next question: What do you want for your and your family’s future?
This is the point at which many of us stop. We think about the goals we would like to achieve and then get distracted. I would like to encourage you to go one step further. After you have a vision for your future, consider the final question: Are you taking steps today that will help you make that vision a reality?
This final question is where we come in. Many of you don’t realize it, but part of being a financial planner is acting as a life coach as you and your family go through changes, make decisions and implement plans. While our team always has certain guidelines we follow when giving advice, we know that the only thing that matters to you is that your goals are achieved. Because of this, I recommend that, as you write out your goals for 2014, you also share them with us. Tell us if you have added new goals, or if your old ones have changed; keep us involved in your quest for a successful year. Doing so will help ensure that we’re on the same page as we plan for 2014 and beyond!