Goal Setting; It's Not Just a New Year Thing
Happy New Year! As you start this year, it’s important to recognize that setting and achieving financial goals can be daunting, especially when done as a team. However, working together to improve your financial well-being can ultimately strengthen your relationship, reduce stress, and improve your overall quality of life. Read on to learn the importance of setting individual goals before sharing them with your partner, establishing a plan for dealing with financial decisions and difficulties, and the essential elements for effectively setting and achieving financial goals as a couple.
First, it is imperative to have clarity on your individual goals before sharing and aligning them with your partner. This requires being honest with yourself regarding your financial aspirations, including short-term and long-term goals. Whether it be saving towards a specific purchase or paying off debt, having a clear understanding of what you want as an individual can help bring clarity in identifying mutual goals that align with your overall vision as a couple.
However, it can be challenging to balance personal goals with joint goals within a relationship. This can sometimes result in disagreements or conflict. If this happens, it’s important to focus on why a particular decision was being made and why it was deemed beneficial. For example, if one partner wants to save towards a holiday, while the other wants to make extra mortgage payments, stating the reasons behind each decision can help to create understanding and ultimately reach a compromise.
An agreed-upon strategy for dealing with financial decisions and difficulties should involve having a monthly budget in place. Having a budget that tracks all expenses, income, and savings is essential; it allows you and your partner to keep tabs on where your money is going. Additionally, it’s helpful to create a "dream list" for extra money. This provides a space where both parties can share their desired future purchases, experiences, or long-term aspirations. This enables both parties to feel heard and prioritize their desires.
The next step towards effective goal setting is writing them down. Writing down individual and mutual goals helps to make them real, helps with quantifying them, and adds clarity. Be sure to specify the goal, whether it is long-term or short-term, and be specific with the timeline you desire to achieve it. As a couple, it’s important to regularly check-in on these goals, track your progress, and celebrate milestones. Additionally, be sure to support your partner's goals, even when they don't completely align with your individual goals. A strong team mentality is essential to avoid sabotaging each other's progress towards financial success.
Setting and achieving financial goals as a couple can be challenging, but it’s a rewarding process. Honesty, communication, and alignment are the three critical elements to avoid derailing your financial goals or causing conflict. Your year may not always turn out exactly as planned, but it could also end up better than expected if you embrace the team mentality. Cheers to a successful financial year!
Check out this week’s For Better & Worth podcast episode to hear how Chris and Ericka navigate setting goals and what some of them are for 2024.