Don't Just Wish, You Need Action to Reach Those Goals!

Today I read an article found on Yahoo! Finance titled "Wishing for Retirement? Replace Hope with Action!" This article is talking about actually putting a plan into action to reach your retirement goals. Many of us might want to retire. We might have a specific date we want to retire and we have a general idea of how much we need to have saved up to make this possible. However, we may just be throwing what seems like a reasonable amount of money into our retirement savings and "hoping" that this will be enough.

This article gives some good points. Make your dreams yours. This involves being able to picture your dreams. Know what you want. You are more likely to be motivated to sock away plenty of cash in savings if you know why you are doing it. If you just know you want to retire but you have no idea where or what you want to do then it's harder to stay motivated for that. If you know you want to retire at a certain age, buy a nice lake house, and spend your days fishing and cruising around the lake, then you have a pretty set dream and will be more motivated to make that happen.

Chart your goals. You need to know your ultimate goal or at least a very good idea of that goal. You need to figure out a plan of where you need to be at different points along your journey in order to reach the end goal. Make a plan and check your progress along the way. Make a visual chart and this can help motivate you on your long journey.

Find inspiration on a daily basis. For me I believe a chart will be quite a bit of inspiration. I may put up a chart in my office at work charting my progress in different goal areas. For example I want to cut down on eating out. I may chart every day I do not eat out a certain number of dollars for savings so I can see the impact it is having on my savings.

Whatever you do, it is good to have goals and a plan of action. Whether retirement, weight loss, a big project at work, or any other goal, it is good to know what your ideal end result will be and how you plan on getting there. Stay motivated and put a plan into action. The end result will be great!