We all, either intentionally or unintentionally, we all have goals.

Some of these might be activity based (like run a marathon or climb mount kilimanjaro), some might be lifestyle based (like spend more time with your family or try to get fit) and some might be financial (like achieve financial security, pay for your children’s education costs or accumulate enough wealth to achieve the retirement you desire).

On the route to achieving most goals, financial or otherwise, life does and will get in the way.  Sometimes it’s easy to become sidetracked, take a detour and then find you’re either not on track to achieve your goals or it’s going to take you a lot longer than expected.

I therefore want to share with you some ideas which might help you keep on track to achieve your financial goals (the art of ‘sticking to the plan’).  I’m talking about financial goals specifically (as you’d expect on a blog about money) however I’m pretty sure these techniques can be applied to any aspect and area of your life.

1.  Goals are best read, written and actioned – With any form of goal, financial or otherwise, the best starting point is to write your goals down.

I’ve noticed that the individuals who tend to be closer to achieving their goals spend time writing their goals as opposed to the ones who have goals but keep them in their head.

However writing your goals down helps, but isn’t enough.  You need to read and re-read your goals and then take action.

So, why does writing and reading your goals help when life gets in the way?  By reminding yourself of your financial aims and what your looking to achieve allows you to get back on track if you’re found yourself veering off.

However many of us lose the track to our goals because we don’t…

2.  Review regularly – Your goals are your destination.  However if you’re anything like me when you’re driving to a specific destination I, quite often, veer off track.  Now I’ve got my trust Sat Nav which enables me to get back ‘on track’.

Unfortunately there’s nothing as automated as that when it comes to your financial goals!

Therefore it’s important to track your goals on a regular basis and ensure that you remain on track.

We’ve talked about what you can do to help you when you veer off financial track and there’s one clear thing you can do.  Notice as early as possible.

If weeks go by before you notice you’re off track…it’s easy to fix.  If months go buy before you notice you’re off track…it’s a little tougher but still pretty manageable.  Even after lacking to review circumstances for a couple of years your goals might be salvageable.

However imagine trying to get back on track after 5 years, or a decade.  or two decades.

Unfortunately when people get out of the habit of reviewing their financial goals on a regular basis they do find that the goals slip further and further away.

However with longer term goals reviewing regularly does take work.  Sometimes It’s worth just taking some time to reward yourself for staying on financial track and I’ll talk about this (and much more) on the 2nd part of this blog….