Personal financial success — however you define it — is more likely if you’ve set goals and have a plan to reach them. Oh, and you’ll need a job, too. Get some advice on setting goals (and getting a job) from these sites.
You’ve grown up. You may or may not be what you wanted to be. But now what? What do you want to be next? At the U.S. News Money site, Kimberly Palmer summarizes some of the guidance from a book by elder care expert Bart Astor, “Roadmap for the Rest of Your Life,” which Palmer says is meant to help baby boomers set goals and pursue them. Among the recommendations: Take a close look at your finances by crunching your own numbers twice a year, and keep planning for the next 25 to 30 years, no matter how old you are. tinyurl.com/MoneyRoadmap
For step-by-step advice on setting financial goals, see this outline by Erin Huffstetler at About.com. You can even print out a goals worksheet. Huffstetler says to set short-, medium- and long-term goals. Then estimate their costs, and start budgeting – meaning saving. “Keep your motivation by revisiting your list frequently to check on your progress,” she writes. And if setbacks come, don’t get discouraged and give up. Rather, set a new date for reaching your goal. tinyurl.com/AboutGoals
For another take on setting short-, medium- and long-term goals, see this page at Dummies.com, home of the “For Dummies” book publisher. tinyurl.com/DummiesGoals
Kiplinger.com breaks down financial goal-setting with an introduction to the big-picture concepts: “You probably don’t expect to attain great wealth in your lifetime. Simple financial security would do, if only you knew what that meant.” There’s the rub. The article says financial security, first, means having income, usually from a job, and some expectation that the income will continue. tinyurl.com/KiplingerGoals
Get a job, keep one or get promoted with tips from career-advice writer Karen Burns, back at the U.S. News Money site. Practice speaking, look happy, eat gracefully. Hey, these are good dating tips, too. Also, you should blog, tweet, volunteer and hang out with upbeat people, Burns writes. tinyurl.com/USNewsJobTips
Making mistakes in goal-setting can set you back. Learn some common errors from this post at MindTools.com. They happen in financial goal-setting as well as in other life issues. You may set unrealistic goals, set too many goals or, perhaps most important, fail to see how you can learn from your failures along the way. tinyurl.com/MindToolsGoals
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