No more long days on patrol. It’s finally time to relax and enjoy life. I chose a career that would give me a secure retirement; that of a police officer. I worked over two decades in dangerous places, sacrificing many other desires, and putting my life and my wife Lisa, on hold while I built for my future. And now it’s here…retirement. Or is it?
(Sam T.)
As the kids left home, Sam and Lisa started to see the reality. Sam went back to school and although Sam really enjoys his new consulting career, the excitement began to wear off as he realized that he was working not because he wanted to, but because he had to. This was not what the retirement that had anticipated.
Sam & Lisa fell into the housing trap and had refinanced their home a few times and still had a 25-year mortgage, some credit card debt, and now some unanticipated start-up costs for the consulting business. Through a money coaching process, they were able to redefine their life based on meaningful goals and heart-values, and create a plan to reshape their retirement based on the reality of their situation. In order for them to achieve these new goals however, they had to become disciplined and consistent.
Here are the steps they had to take:
Step 1: Clearly define your five year goals
Start with a clear picture of what you want. A 5-year picture is best, as longer than that will be hard to see how it can happen, and shorter becomes more about tasks and less about planning for the future. Being clear about what you want, will allow you to create a meaningful, happy life. If you define your life based on what other people want for you, you’ll end up regretting your choices or being unhappy.
Step 2: Create short-term targets
Once you have a 5-year picture, break it into short-term targets. Start with one year from now, then break your targets into 90 day mini-targets. Include all areas of your life that need to be adjusted, not just your money. Set targets with your money with savings, debt, income, spending; but also set targets in your career, relationships, living situation, leisure, health, etc. You have to focus on each area simultaneously in order to develop that 5-year picture and stay in balance.
Step 3: Work a weekly task list
With your 90 day targets, the best way to stay on track is to have a plan that encourages you to take action right now, today, and stick with it. Start by committing to a weekly time for your planning (I like Monday mornings at 9:00am). On a piece of paper, write your 90-day targets on the left side, and on the right list the next steps that you need to take. No, don’t write everything you need to do, only right the next steps. The steps you need to complete this week. This is really important and will keep you from getting overwhelmed.
Step 4: Honestly assess yourself
During your weekly planning time, honestly assess your progress. Ask yourself, “Why didn’t I complete that task?” Often you may find yourself repeatedly skipping over a particular task or two. You must take the time to find out why. A common reason for procrastinating is that the task is too big. For example, if your task was to put $50/week into a retirement account, and you haven’t done that yet, perhaps there are smaller steps you need to do first. Perhaps the next step is to research various types of accounts. Then once that’s complete, the next step might be to determine which type of account you will use. Then research how to open the account. Then set up automatic payments. You see? Breaking it down into smaller parts will help you actually take action instead of procrastinating.
Step 5: Don’t quit
This is probably the hardest step. Don’t quit. When you get frustrated, overwhelmed, or too busy, it is easy to forge your tasks or to just plain give up. But don’t. If this starts to happen create a reminder system that gets you back to your weekly planning time. Even if you’ve skipped a few, just pick up where you left off and get back on track. When you’re trying to make changes in your life, you will run into hard spots, resistance, confusion or even anger. But don’t let these get you off track. They are normal ‘bumps in the road’ and learning to work through them is the only way you’ll actually complete your goals.
Each Monday at noon, Sam and I sit down and discuss our finances. Our weekly meetings help us have meaningful discussions, work together as a team, stay accountable, and put structure in place so we can stop stressing about money and enjoy our new retirement. (Lisa T.)
In order to achieve your goals, you must stay on track on a weekly basis. These five steps will help you build a structure to gain the discipline needed to actually achieve those goals, not just dream about them.