Chris O'Shea
It’s easy to procrastinate when it comes to your financial goals. There’s always something that comes up, something that needs the money, something unexpected. Never mind that goal of retiring with a nice chunk of change. Never mind that goal of buying your first home. It’s all too comfortable to stay in that “one day down the line” mentality because money seems fleeting at times. Here’s how to break out of that mindset and make progress toward your financial goals.
Think of Loss
Research shows that financial loss is more memorable (and more painful) to people than financial gains. Use that to your advantage. Use retirement calculators to see just how much you’d be missing out on if you spend your money now instead of investing it for later.
Allow Imperfections
You can scare yourself out of a long-term financial goal by trying to be perfect. Perhaps you’re avoiding going forward with buying a house because you keep striving for the highest credit score (or lowest mortgage rate) possible. The reality is that you might never get there. Allow yourself to accept the good enough. Instead of waiting for the perfect score, get the best score you can and get to mortgage shopping. No one is perfect. Do yourself a favor and remember that.
Start Over
As CNBC notes, a recent study from the University of Pennsylvania found that giving yourself a fresh start is a good idea, and it doesn’t have to be New Year’s Eve. The report explained that any day people designate as their “fresh start” day creates motivation. It helps separate the past (spending instead of saving for that goal) from the present and future.
