This week is your opportunity to check in and see how you are doing on reaching the goals that you set for yourself at the beginning of the year. This week's challenge should not take more than an hour, but you should be prepared to make new goals, and to adjust the ones that you currently have. I find that I can more effectively evaluate my goals when I take the time to write down my responses. Sometimes that means I use paper, and sometimes it means I enter it on my computer-back in the day I used my planner. Just find a method where you can record your thoughts and look back over them at some point.
Begin by choosing one goal and answering these questions.
- Have you reached this goal or reached the step that you wanted to by this point?
- If not why? What can you change in order to reach the goal? If the goal was unrealistic how can you modify the goal?
- If you have reached the goal what is the next step or mini goal in order to reach the larger goal? What changes do you need to make for this next step?
Once you have answered these questions for each goal, look over your answers and write the specific goals down that you will be working on for the next quarter. For example if you had a goal to create a workable budget for this quarter, an acceptable goal would be to stick to that budget for the next three months. Be specific when it comes to saving money or paying off debt. You may want to create a chart that will track your progress.
Take time to reward yourself if you have achieved your goals. This should be a small reward that you can truly afford without throwing off your budget to the point that you cannot reach your other goals.
Post your goals somewhere you will see them or share them with a friend who can encourage you to reach them this quarter. Financial goals are often private, and money is something that many people feel uncomfortable discussing with others. However, you can share your goals without revealing too much personal information. You can also post the goals on the forum and receive support there.
