With the City of Atlanta growing so fast, Atlanta Financial Planning is as important as ever. We are one of the country’s most dynamic cities in 2017. There’s a lot going on in the city, and in the lives of the professionals who make it such an exciting place to live. With so much going on, it can be hard to get a clear focus on what it takes to reach your financial goals. Consider Scarlet Oak Financial top six strategies to get started in the right direction and keep making progress to the future you envision:
1. First, get granular as you establish goals. Be very specific at this stage, setting actual dollar amounts and dates to shoot for:
a. Short term goals should address priority issues like paying off credit cards and saving enough to cover three months of expenses
b. Mid-range goals can deal with more appealing matters, such as buying a new car or saving for a trip
c. Don’t forget to include long term goals like the purchase of a first or second home, or retirement savings
2. Next, set up separate bank accounts that will make it easy to gauge progress toward your different goals. You’ll want to have one account for emergency savings, and one for trips, a home purchase or another goal that’s important to you.
3. Start funding your goals by making regular deposits into the new accounts. This is the most critical step, and the one where so many would-be savers falter. The best method to ensure you’re actually doing it is setting up monthly or per-paycheck deposits that go directly into the specified accounts.
4. Establish a budget. This is tough for many people, but it’s a key contributor to your success over time. When you know you have a certain amount to spend weekly, you’ll be better able to manage your spending to keep your cash flow aligned with your goals.
5. Change your thinking around money. When we were growing up, a lot of us heard and absorbed the message that “Money doesn’t grow on trees!” While that’s technically true, you’ll create a better relationship to money by changing your mental mantra to something more positive, such as “Money comes easy to me.” Change your words and you can change your world.
6. Appreciate what you have. Your life doesn’t begin once you’ve met all your financial goals. It’s happening now, and you should enjoy it! Sometimes the simplest things in life make you the happiest, so be sure to relish every moment and focus on the joy in each day.
We’re passionate about helping the Atlanta Metro Area find inspiration and success around money, and we’re here to assist you in financial planning goals. In fact, we are local right here in the heart of Atlanta. You can click here to download a Financial Goals Worksheet that will aid you in completing the steps listed above. To set up a free consultation with one of our advisors, email fsykes@scarletoakfs.com or call us at 800-871-1219. Click here to sign up for our weekly newsletter with the latest economic news.
