In order to have a better idea of how you’re going to fair out in life, you need to give serious consideration into setting financial goals – long term! As long as you have some sort of plan of action, then you will end up in a better position down the road. From paying off a mortgage to investing in your child’s college education, you will have a much clearer picture of what’s involved.

As a parent you need to set goals and budgets in order to sustain a positive financial outlook on life.

The following 3 steps will help you create and hopefully achieve your financial goals for both you and your family.

Envision your success

In order to achieve any financial goal, you first need to access everything and look at things from the outside in. For example, if you want to create a £5,000 or £10,000 passive income stream for your family, you need to visualise in your mind how they would react when it’s achieved. Are they happy? Do you express their delight to you?

Success breathes success as the popular saying goes, and once you let your mind feel these sensations, then this can act as a powerful stimulant and goal setting technique.

Milestone breakdown

A lot of parents and people have set targets for themselves, but they don’t know what they need to do next.

You need to breakdown these goals into easier and more attainable milestones so that it becomes a more realistic challenge. By doing things this way you give yourself the best possible chance of reaching your financial goals in the long run.

Prepare for the end result

Ok, so you want to attain £500,000 in assets in the next 10 years? While the goal might be what you want in your mind, you also have to be realistic about the chances of achieving it. It’s not a case that you can pull a figure out of the thin air.

You need to arrive at this figure by using accurate estimations, and always be prepared that the end result will not be what you expected it to be. Life doesn’t always work out the way we’d planned.

There are always two sides to look at from action that we take. It should never be “win or lose”, but more of a “win or learn” type of situation.

If we get the result that we planned for then all is good. If we don’t’, then we have to look at it as a learning experience and take the positives from it, rather than looking at it negatively.

By setting financial goals for you and your family, you must realise that it’s an art, not an exact science. Take things slow and move with grace and controlled calculation. In the end, you just might get to where you’re looking to reach, financially.