The single biggest mistake people make when they set goals is that their goals are too vague.

Before you can tackle the necessary decisions related to retirement, including investments, taxes, insurance, etc., you must identify your values and then determine your goals and what you want to accomplish over your lifetime.

The fun comes when you accomplish your goals and you have tangible evidence that you are living life according to your true values.

Here’s what I mean by setting specific goals…

“I want to retire when I’m fifty-five,” is too vague. A specific goal would be,

“I want to retire when I’m fifty-five and for me that means January 1, 2017, with a monthly income of $5,000 after taxes or a yearly income of $60,000 net after taxes.”

That’s a specific goal.

Another example of a concrete goal is not saying, “I want to travel.”

Instead, you might say, “I want to have $10,000 to $15,000 for travel per year. I want that money available and I want to start spending that money next year.”

You would write your goals and specify the year or the month, if possible, in which you want to start traveling and the year in which you will need to have the travel fund available.

In order for you to have a valid goal, you must have something in writing. A goal is not simply something that you discuss with friends.

Your incredible retirement goals are an important objective and having them in writing also reminds you to handle the necessary financial, legal and tax issues that go along with your goals.

Having written goals that you review periodically reminds you why you’re doing certain things and helps you focus on what really matters.

It’s worth mentioning that your goals aren’t static. Some of your goals may stay the same but others will vary as circumstances in your life change.

While you may modify your goals, your core values don’t disappear.

Ready to put your goals into action for an Incredible Retirement? We can help; contact us today to meet with one of our Wealth Managers.