Why Is It So Important To Have Goals When It Comes To Your Money?
Every financial planner out there will start a conversation with what are your financial goals? Whenever you sit down with a piece of financial planning software, it will ask you to enter your goals. And if you snap back, “it’s always with the goals with you people”, they’ll tell you that you can’t make a plan without a goal. Most of the time, you get in your car knowing the destination you want to end up at. Now whether you have a map, or a GPS or miraculous sense of direction, at least you know where it is that you want to end up!
Oddly enough, though, when it comes to your finances, you need a goal and a number so that you can write it down and SEE it. That’s what makes the number real; when you see it. Before you have “the number” in your mind, it’s just a glittery idea. Put the number down so that can see how much you have to earn, to save, to invest to get to it… so that you an formulate a plan.
One of the biggest misconceptions I see when people come to talk to me about a retirement plan is that they think they need only 70% of their pre-retirement income, if the big ticket items are all paid off. (Items like the house, college loans, etc.) Yet in actuality, most folks will need about 120% depending upon how long we live, the lifestyle we want to live and the unforeseen medical expenses that may occur.
Keep in mind,
- women who reach age 50 today without a serious health problem can reasonably expect to see their 92nd birthday
- women over the age of 65 outlive their husbands by about 15 years
- and 55% of women (vs. 22% of men) are not covered by pension plans.
You need a goal. A goal you can build a plan to achieve it. That goal needs to be written down, or put into visual form, so that you can easily recognize the building blocks, the short falls and the bridges your plan needs to reach it!
For more on goals, check out our podcast on Becoming Wise About Your Money This Year
Annual Cocoa Beach Aunts & Cousins Reunion
Well I was informed this Christmas that last year’s Cocoa Beach reunion of my aunts and my cousin would definitely be an annual affair! No problem, we had a blast together, so why not create and cherish great memories while we can? We slept in the 3 beds in my small condo, & also on blow-up beds, yet no one complained about there only being 2 bathrooms. Yes, some of you will remember my 88-year old aunt Janet riding the waves last year, and at 89 she did go swimming in the ocean with me this year, yet for the most part, we just relaxed on the beach and took in some discount store shopping, as well as enjoyed local seafood. Here’s our gang at a waterfront restaurant called Jack Baker’s Lobster Shanty in Cocoa Beach, FL, which I highly recommend!
Why is this so special? My aunts were formative influences in my early years, and each provided me with wise guidance and counsel. We are a God-fearing and a musical family, so we delighted in singing hymns in 4 part harmony together once again.
Two of my aunts are widowed, and another one is taking care of her incapacitated husband, plus my cousin is widowed. Each of these women have learned to manage their money in a way that allows them a comfortable retirement. My cousin’s husband died suddenly so she is a perfect example of a woman who when she needed, pulled herself together, and provided comfort to her 2 children. None of these women started out knowing much about money–let’s remember the horrible socialization women who are now in their 70s and 80s received in their youth and early adulthood–yet they have put one foot in front of the other to forge ahead in uncharted waters, investing for their future. They pray for God’s guidance and they act. I’m happy to be related to them, and to hold them out as “everyday folks” who could serve as examples of empowered women to any woman who needs a role model. We Can Do It Women!
