“Are you willing to pay the price your freedom costs?”

-Queen Elinor, Brave

Hello, friend!

Welcome to Journey to Millions!

In my previous article, you discovered how life can get even better when you identified “where you are now” (in terms of your actual net worth) and compared it to “where you should be” (in terms of your expected net worth).

Together, we promised to aim at becoming Prodigious Accumulators of Wealth (PAW), a term coined by the famous wealth researchers, Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko. They defined PAWs as “builders of wealth—that is, they are the best at building net worth compared to others in their income/age category.”

In this article, you will be exploring your options as to how you can meet your financial goals.

It’s time to take you a notch higher and see how you can turn your big dreams into reality.

Do you still remember Stever Robbins, the Get-It-Done-Guy at QuickandDirtyTips.com? In his article “How to Set the Right Goals,” he talked about two types of goals: 1) Outcome Goals; and 2) Process Goals.

Do you still remember Outcome Goals? In one of my previous articles, the First Step To Your Journey To Millions: Setting Financial Goals, you have already learned how to make Outcome Goals. Outcome Goals inspire or motivate you into action. Back then, our examples of specific Outcome Goals were the following:

1. By January 2014, I am visiting my friend in Thailand and be touring 8 enchanting spots for 4 days, with a pocket money of at least P50,000.
2. By January 2015, I am buying a house worth P2,000,000, with 3 bedrooms and 2 toilets & bathrooms, located at XYZ Subdivision in ABC City.

As you can see in the examples above, since Outcome Goals “don’t tell you how to move forward” or go about achieving them, you would also need Process Goals. As Stever says it, “Process Goals tell you what you should be doing each day or each week to reach your outcome goals.”

Get the idea?

If not, let me give some examples.

Here are some Process Goals that would match the Outcome Goals mentioned earlier:

1. To make my Thailand trip possible, I would need to save at least P4,200 a month, from January 2013 to December 2013. This is to build my travel fund worth P50,000 by January 2014.
2. To buy my dream house in cash, I would need to save at least P83,400 a month, from January 2013 to December 2014. This is to complete my home fund worth P2,000,000 by January 2015.
3. If I cannot afford to buy my dream house in cash, I can save at least P16,700 a month, from January 2013 to December 2014. If I pay at least 20% of P2,000,000 as down payment, I may be eligible to loan the remaining 80% from a bank.

Given the Process Goals stated above, you can now see how the sample Outcome Goals can be achieved. If the person saving is faithful enough and disciplined enough to stick to his Process Goals, there would be no doubt that he would make his dreams come true in no time.

With specific and realistic Outcome Goals, partnered with measurable Process Goals, you now have more control over your own future. You exercise your power to set how you want your future to be like.

Can you make your own Process Goals to match your own Outcome Goals?
Now, your time has come to write your very own Process Goals that would match your own Outcome Goals. For this, you would need your good old paper, pen, calendar, and calculator. You would also need your list of Outcome Goals and your monthly spending plan or budget.

Financial goals you shouldn’t miss
I have always believed that different people would naturally have different financial goals, but as my knowledge of personal finance grew, I realized that there are specific financial goals that every person should ideally aim for.

Here are the financial goals you shouldn’t miss:

• Emergency Fund – A good emergency fund should be 6 to 8 months worth your monthly income. However, if you are a freelancer, you should aim for at least 12 months worth of emergency fund. Ex. P50,000 X 6 months = P300,000

Why is an Emergency Fund important?

• An Emergency Fund supports you during a job loss, a medical problem, an unexpected car repair, etc.
• It buys you time to look for a new job or recuperate from an illness.
• It keeps you from taking a loan when faced with an unplanned expense.

• Term Life Insurance – An excellent insurance coverage should be worth 20 years of your monthly income, especially if you have children who are still dependent on you. Ex. P50,000 X 12 months X 20 years = P12,000,000

Why is a Term Life Insurance important?

• A Term Life Insurance allows you to financially support your loved ones even when you’re gone (living expenses, education, etc.).
• It can be used to pay for your final expenses (funeral costs, debts, etc.).
• It can be used to pay estate taxes, as the ownership of your assets are transferred to your beneficiaries.

• Retirement Fund – According to David Bach, if you want to be super rich, super fast, save and invest at least 20% of your income. For sure, you can do better!

Why is a Retirement Fund important?

• A well funded Retirement Fund gives you a feeling of pride, confidence, and security that you can still be “financially independent” even while you are no longer working.
• It allows you to maintain or even improve your standard of living (pursue your hobby, travel the world, etc.).
• It gives you the option to leave a legacy for your loved ones, upon death.

Argh! I don’t have money to save! My income is not enough for my dreams!
You might be wondering, “This is crazy! How can I save up for all of these things when my income is not even enough for my basic needs?”

Well, let me ask you, “Are you willing to pay the price your dreams cost?”

If you answered “yes” then you better relax and keep learning.

We all have to start somewhere, right?

No matter how insufficient your current monthly income is, I encourage you to just keep pushing forward.

In my next article, I would be sharing with you what personal finance experts advise people like you and I who have limited resources but unlimited dreams.

Together, we will overcome the issue of income insufficiency and boost each other’s confidence as we hang on our Journey To Millions.

For the mean time, would you mind leaving a comment and sharing a pair of your Outcome Goals and Process Goals?

Also, if you have a loved one whom you think would benefit from this article, please send him/her a link to this page. I’m betting that not a lot of people know about these things yet. So, you and your friends can be part of the 2% who knows.

Until my next post.

Love,

Edel

 

Image taken from thegoaldiva.com

Tagged as: Emergency Fund, Financial Goals, Life Insurance, Outcome Goals, Personal Finance, Process Goals, Retirement Fund, Steps To Your Journey To Millions, Term Life Insurance