Planning Ahead for the New Year

Planning ahead for the New Year

“A goal is a dream with a deadline” - Napoleon Hill.

Hip hip hurray, it’s the New Year. Three hundred and sixty-five days, five hundred and twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes and thirty-one million, five hundred and thirty-six thousand seconds gone by just like that. It is a time to start afresh and set new goals especially financial goals. At this particular time of the year many people begin to make New Year’s resolutions, however many of these resolutions are just wishes that never become reality. Worse still many of these do not relate to personal or business finance issues. It is not enough to just say I would get out of debt in 2014 or I would give more to charity. How do you intend to make this a reality?  It is therefore not enough to just make resolutions instead it is more profitable to set goals. You may ask, what is the difference between a resolution and a goal? According to the Oxford Dictionary, resolution can be defined as “a firm decision to do or not to do something”, whilst according to the Business Dictionary “a goal is an observable and measurable end result having one or more objectives to be achieved within a more or less fixed time frame”. Essentially a goal must be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic/Relevant and Time bound). As 2014 commences, it is a time to Reflect, Refocus and Review.

1.      Reflect: It is time to reflect on 2013. Ask yourself a few questions. How would you describe 2013? What are the lessons learnt? What were your financial highs and lows? What areas of your personal finance or business do you intend to improve on in 2014? What hopes do you have for 2014? What are your dreams and goals?

2.      Refocus: “If you fail to plan you plan to fail”. What goals would you like to set for 2014? What milestones would you like to achieve? Maybe you want to buy land, make more investments, start a new business or save more. Do you want to get out of debt or give more to humanity and God? It is not okay to just think these, it is important to write them down. It is also important to ensure goals are SMART.

a)     Specific: The goal must be detailed enough to give precise direction to the task in hand. It must be clear, easily understandable and unambiguous. It is not enough to just say you want to save more. You must be clear on the amount you intend to save, how you intend to achieve it and when you would like to achieve it.

b)     Measurable: The goal must be measurable. You need to be able to assess/measure whether you are on target or not. This enables you to track your progress.

c)     Attainable: Your goal must be realizable or attainable i.e. capable of completion for instance in reality is it realistic to have a goal to pay off a debt 5 times your monthly income in two months?

d)      Relevant: It is important to set goals that matter and are relevant. A goal that is in alignment with other goals can be considered as relevant.

e)     Time bound: Goals must have a specific time or period of completion. This would enable you to measure your progress periodically.

3.      Review: On a final note it is not enough to just set goals; you must constantly review those goals in the course of the year and on a daily basis. A recommended approach is to write your goals in a journal and review them every day. I recently downloaded a dreams and goals app on my phone and I try as much as possible to review my goals on a daily basis after my quiet time and commit them to the Lord.

As you plan ahead, it is important to remember that you cannot achieve all these goals on your own. We must commit all our goals and plans to God. The Bible says in Proverbs 19:21 “many are the plans in a person’s heart but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails”. However as you spend time with God and ask for direction, you will find that the goals you set will be in alignment with his will and plans. John 15:7 says “If you abide in me, and My words abide in you ask whatever you wish, and it would be done for you.”