5 Steps to achieve financial goals in modern times

Its been a long time since I posted - forgive me as I have been busy from work and home. If you want to check out what I've been up to lately - I suggest to check out my previous post to catch up.

For this post, I would like to share my thoughts on a very important concept which really has hit me recently more than anything else - personal finance.



Let me be the first to admit - I am not a very good custodian of wealth, although with God's grace, I am slowly realizing this fact and thankfully, would devote my remaining time on this world to master the skills of being a better captain of my finances.

If you've been following me lately, you know that I have been blessed by our good Lord with an amazing opportunity to provide for my family and others as well.

In this recent months - I found myself questioning the very fact that most of us experience everyday, but end up not really doing much about it... that is financial security.

Through my research, I'm going to put together this 5 Steps tips that I believe is relevant to us in this modern times. Whether you start off broke or a millionaire, we need to always push the boundaries and keep evolving our techniques as we aspire to live our lives according to God's plan.

So without further ado, here are my personal 5 Steps to successfully achieve your goals:

Step 1 - Recognize your strengths... but importantly, your weakness...

Lets face it, each one of us has our own egos to stroke.

Often, we grow so unaware about our own cynicism that we expect others to stroke our egos for us.

But understanding this bit of yourself can prove to be the deal breaking if you want to succeed in your financial journey.

For example, you know you earn a decent living for yourself; to feed your family, pay your bills, and still have a small amount of savings every month...

This could be your strength.

However, your also a sucker for new gadgets, or the latest fashion trends, so you often break your wallet every time there's an opportunity to do so.

This might be your weakness.

Sure you're making good money now that your in your prime, but chances are, like everyone of us payroll earning individuals - there will also come a time when your expenses will come out of no where and suddenly.
 
Which means two things... you need to acknowledge your weakness (e.g. auto-pilot spending) to be able to plan ways to combat them.

For example, since your such a gadget freak, often visiting shops to see what latest and greatest one you can get your hands on for under 500 pesos.

Multiply that by frequency of new gadgets coming out the market or the relative time that gadgets get upgraded (e.g. new gadgets now come out every 18 or so months) and scale that cost up for 10-years and you'll see that the amount is not that petty anymore.

You need to make a commitment to get yourself out of that situation - whether drowning yourself on books, or going out for a jog or stroll... whatever it takes for you to stave off the "need" to buy that one cool gadget now!

Step 2 - Determine a realistic goal or plan

If you know your a sucker for splurging on the latest gadgets and you've successfully found was to stop yourself from splurging, then its time for you to take the next step.

In modern psychology circles it was found that up to 85% of adults suffer from short interest spans. This is the main reason why people going through a diet program often regress and turn out failing their diet plan.

The way to effectively combat this is to develop a "reward" or a goal for yourself that is so enticing, that you simply remind yourself every time the going gets tough that your doing for "that" thing you always wanted for.

Obviously, you need to be realistic whenever your creating your goal... I mean if you want to save up for a plastic surgery procedure because your goal is to look like the showbiz idol Richard Gomez... then I suggest you need to really think about what is important to you at this time in your life.

Step 3 - Breakdown your plan in to little pieces

After the previous step and you ended up with a realistic goal in mind, its time to "slice the pie" and put together a plan.

First let's define the plan for what it is...

As an example lets put this scenario in this context

Strength - you have a decent paying job enough to provide for your family and have a small amount for savings each month.

Weakness - your a sucker for new gadgets; you find yourself being drawn to places like Greenhill's Plaza and end up blowing your savings on cellphone covers, cheap tablets, selfie sticks, etc. almost every week. To combat this, you plan to devote your weekend to either visiting your family, being active in civic organizations in your community, or learning a new skill (e.g. carpentry, etc).

Goal - open a separate savings account in your bank where you will fund with your weekly savings and use the amount to buy a brand new car with the savings you will generate from not buying 500 or 1000 peso gadget.

Plan - you target to save 1000 pesos per week for 2 years for the part payment of the car (2 years = 104 weeks x 1000 = Php. 104,000).

Step 4 - Work your plan... changing them whenever necessary

As you work you plan, there might come a time, when you end up realizing that its not working.

In our example, you could find that saving 1,000 pesos per week for two years is too difficult as your expenses grow or you have a new baby...

On the other hand, you could have mastered a new trade (e.g. carpentry) and decided to put that in good news by creating iconic furniture and selling them off for profit. Or you found a new job which pays higher or gives you better opportunities to save more pesos.

In each case, you need to be mindful enough and be willing to go back and re-arrange your plan based on your circumstances. Either way, you need to adopt a plan that still fits to meet your overall goal...

Step 5 - Invest in your development by increasing your knowledge

As mentioned by the great Aristotle - "knowledge is power".

You can never go wrong by investing in yourself over your lifetime.

Some suggestions are as follows:

1. buying and reading self-help books, 
2. enrolling in free trade classes (see list of useful skills training offered by TESDA or similar organizations in your communities
3. Attending through seminars - e.g. financial literacy, writing, acting, etc.
4. Joining clubs of your interest or hobby

Each skill or knowledge you gain can be applied to better your chances of being successful with your professional or personal objectives, including achieving your goals above.