Five Secrets to Help You Reach Your Money Goals

Realistic View of Money Goals Money is a not only a big motivator in our lives, but also a necessary part of it. Therefore, it is perfectly normal to set money goals, especially if we want to advance financially. It may be difficult for you to set, and stick to your money goals. Or you may be one of the lucky few who find it easy. For the most of us, it is not easy to set, and keep to our money goals. The real secret is there is no secret to reaching your money goals - it takes a little common sense, with a dash of determination. This article offers five secrets/hints, which are practical, and when followed, it is possible to reach your money goals. I must stress that these secrets/hints are realistic. What is your goal with money? You have dreams and goals, and money is central to practically all your aspirations and goals. Money almost always is central to your achieving any number of goals. A teenager I spoke to some time ago complained that she had a goal, but she wouldn't be able to achieve it. She said it was her goal to travel abroad, but she didn't have the money. I explained that money was in reality her first goal, and that is what she should focus on. She could take on part-time work, save from her allowance, and cut spending. By focusing on her money goals, she would then be able to work towards her bigger goal - that of going abroad. You may have the goal to become financially independent, but that is not in the scope of this article. Whatever your money goals are, you should always follow a strategy to reach them, otherwise it will be extremely difficult, if at all possible. The following are five practical hints to help you reach your money goals. 1. Have a Budget Please note that this is a realistic discussion on the subject of having a budget. There are two aspects in having a budget: income and expenses. A successful budget means the income is more than the expenses. And therefore, the success of your budget means the control of these two aspects. Having specific goals can go a long way to helping you control these aspects. These can be anything from buying a home entertainment center, clearing credit card debt, going on holiday. To help with establishing money goals, you could draw up a written "agreement" with your partner, spouse, friend or family member. This can be used to remind each other when the impulsive buying urges surface. The first step in reaching your money goals is the control of your finances, and a realistic budget is the means to do this. What do you do if your budget does not balance? There are in reality only two options: decrease expenses, or increase income. Most of the time it is not easy or practical to get the former right. It is possible to increase income by making an extra income. This can be done through a variety of means. You could consider turning your hobby into an income generating source. Or you could investigate operating a web business - the benefit of this is that it can be started with minimal start-up costs. 2. Stay away from debt Now, wasn't that easy to say? Here it is paramount to have a realistic view. How possible is it really to stay away from debt? As the old saying goes, "everything in moderation" or something along those lines. Getting into debt is one of the easiest things in this world, and for this reason you need to put up your guard against it. For illustration purposes, I'd like to share the following with you: there is "essential debt" and "luxury debt", and the differentiation of these can help keep you out of the debt trap. Your house, vehicle, household appliances, etc. fall in the "essential debt" category. On the other end, things like entertainment centers, camcorders, and dress jewellery fall into the "luxury debt" category. Some ideas to control or avoid debt are: