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Time to read: 2 minutes
If you’re someone who’s ambitious, money conscious and excited by a challenge, it might be that you’ve already got a pretty clear vision in mind of your financial future. Setting a timeframe for your goals can give you that extra boost of motivation, as you challenge yourself to stay on track and meet your achievements.
Creating a financial timeline could help you maintain your drive and ambition, while also delivering some extra feelings of fulfillment along the way. There’s science to back up this theory, too. Our behavioral expert, Dr Ash Ranpura, explains: “When you break up a task, the individual steps make things more manageable and maybe even enjoyable”.
To get started on creating your timeline, simply download our editable PDF, and click to type in the table. Alternatively, you could print and fill the table out in pen, then display it somewhere visible, like on the fridge. This way, you’ll be reminded regularly of the financial goals you’re working towards.
Start by mapping out your financial goals and identify smaller achievements (or mini-goals) you’d like to hit along the way – plan everything within a realistic timeframe, and challenge yourself to stay ahead. We’ve included an example timeline below for inspiration.
Once you have your financial timeline ready to go, why not set reminders for your mini-goals and dates on your phone, too? That way, you’ll be reminded when you’re getting close to your target dates, and you won’t forget them if you ever misplace your timeline.
Remember, while it’s good to have a plan, if you don’t manage to hit your goals on time, it’s not a failure or a write-off. Life will deal you many twists and turns (good and bad) - so it’s important to be flexible and adjust your timings if you need to. Your goals might change completely over the next 6 months, year or decade, and that’s perfectly ok. It’s an editable PDF, after all – nothing is set in stone.
Next up: How to create a budget that works for you
Now you’ve got an idea of when you plan to reach your goals, you may need to adjust your budget to match your plans…