Wealth creation: Setting goals

In the previous post, I discussed about having a vision for your finances. I hope you have put this into practice because as my pastor says "you cannot arrive at a destination that you have not defined". If my financial vision gives me an idea of where I want to be, setting goals are the vehicles to take me there.

goal:the result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; (Dictionary.com). The definition of a goal carries with it the implication that it's something I think about before I actually achieve it. Getting my finances in order is not going to just happen to me, I need to work towards getting to where I want to be.

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Timely

Financial goals must be specific, If my vision is to save more this financial year, my goals ask the question, how much more? How will I save? My financial vision for 2009 includes getting the maximum amount of money I can into my ISA. If you live in the UK and you don't know what an ISA is well, one of your goals could be to find out what it is lol! That's about £3,600, my goal therefore is to divert £300 per month into my ISA, preferably by Direct Debit as I might not have the discipline to faithfully take it out each month so let the bank work for me a little.

Financial goals should be measurable, setting time dates by which time such and such should have happened will enable you make progress. I'm not so strong on this one but I know I shall get better. My financial vision includes increasing my financial literacy by reading at least two books on finances per quarter, so far I've read half, so I'm lagging behind but I wouldn't know that if I wasn't measuring.

Financial goals should be attainable and realistic. I believe in the area of our finances, our only limit is our financial education. Sorry to say, but I'm tired of an attitude that keeps waiting for someone to show up at the door with £xxx by someone sent by God to bless me, in itself I have no problem with it but why can't I be the someone that will be the blessing as opposed to the one waiting. So while I can say, I would like to save £1,000,000 from my salary it is very unlikely that my job will be paying me that amount any time soon so I set realistic and attainable goals. Setting goals and attaining them gives me strength to keep on pressing forward. I believe in a God of miracles who can open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing, pressed down, shaken together and running over but into what container will he put it? Are you ready to receive the blessing that He wants to give you? When Jesus was in Peter's boat, there was so much fish that the net began to break, to me that means if he had a bigger net, he would have more fish so he couldn't receive beyond his capacity.

Financial goals should be timely, this is closely linked to measurable in that setting specific times by which you would have achieved the goals that have been set. I will need to review my vision and goals by the end of the month to see where I'm succeeding and where I'm lagging behind. Remember to review your goals regularly. This is usually where I have a problem, I write things down but do not take time to review and ask myself how I'm doing on the journey, sometimes some goals may need to be changed, scrapped or stretched but you'll never know if you don't review them.

In one of the earlier posts on this blog, I discussed about the motivation we each have for creating wealth. This is very important because this is what will keep us focused. I need money to do a lot of things, believe me even if you're going to be a missionary, your ability to go depends on someone giving the money that will support you while you are there. In these days when we realise that a 'credit crunch' is not actually a type of cereal, it is even more important to remain keyed in to why and how important it is as people (more especially as women..) to have our finances in order.

So what are your financial goals? Do you believe in setting goals specifically for your finances? Please leave a comment. My financial goals for 2009 should be appearing in the side bar soon.

Remain blessed and highly favoured.

I WILL INCREASE!!

Hi all,

Short note, for those in the London area, Pastor Albert Odulele will be preaching on "This crisis is for my increase" at Glory House, Canning Town. More information here. There is a shaking going on in the realm of finance, when it is over I want to be on the winning side! We can thrive in famine.

The Word says there was a famine in the land of the Philistines, yet because the Lord blessed him, Isaac was able to sow in the land and reaped a hundred fold!! Some say there is no crisis, I don't agree. What I know is that I can prosper even in famine because I serve a God of increase. In Egypt, there were seven years of plenty, followed by seven years of famine, the famine was real, it's also real that what my £20 could get me this time last year can't even be gotten for £30. It's real that my gas and electricity bills are skyrocketing, it's real that this past week a lot of people lost their jobs, it's real that a lot of companies are recording record losses this year, it's also real that I serve a God who teaches me how to make wealth (Deut 8:18).

There was a severe famine in Egypt, it affected the whole world the Bible says "the money failed" (Genesis 47:15) but at the end of the day this resulted in the repositioning of children of God in Egypt where as the Bible says they had posessions and grew and multiplied exceedingly (Genesis 47:27)so we can prosper in hard times. Come if you can, I'm sure you will be blessed.

This is our year of UNCOMMON TESTIMONIES.

Some statistics on women and money..

These statistics came from the book 'Rich Woman' by Kim Kiyosaki. I can't talk about this book enough, I would encourage every woman to read it. The data she presents reflects the present situation in the states but I'll still do some research to see if I can find similar data for the UK as well although I think the data will be quite comparable wherever in the world you are! Please I would like to know your thoughts on this and whatever you read here. We are all learning and the issue of finance and money are very personal therefore quite sensitive. Remain blessed!

: 47% of women over the age of 50 are single which means they are financially responsible for themselves

: A woman's retirement income is less than men because a woman is away from the workforce an average of 14.7 years as compared to a man's 1.6 and when coupled with the fact that a woman usually earns less than a man in the same job means that their retirement benefits could end up being 1/4 that of a man (National Center for Women and Retirement Research-NCRWRR)

: 50% of marriages end up in divorce with the woman usually ending up with the children innit? A major source of conflict in marriage is from money and finance related issues!!

: In the first year after a divorce a woman's standard of living drops an average of 73%

: On average, women live longer than men which means someone must provide for those extra years if the man has been the primary source of finances.

This is the one that got me the hardest!!

:Of the elderly living in poverty, 3 out of 4 are WOMEN (Morningstar Fund Investor) and 80% of these women were not poor when their husbands were alive!!

Now I've never been a big fan of statistics but I think this data suggests that as a woman I have some stuff to think about. I included the data on divorce not because I think I will be a divorcee someday but because the statistics of divorce rate in the church is becoming comparable to what we see outside the church and I don't believe anyone goes into marriage with the thought that it might break up though it's a reality that we see.

Personally, I need to be financially educated not because I want to earn more than my husband or be the provider but because I need to develop good financial habits, the wise woman builds her house (Proverbs 14:1). Another statistic which comes a bit closer to home is also that on average, women are getting married later. At my age, my mum had 3 children so I think this is an area that really needs a lot of thought.

As a believer, I know GOD is my source but remember the parable of the talents in Matthew 25, the bible says the master gave the servants talents "each according to his ability" v.15. Also know that although that parable could be related to skills, talent in the context of the story was money! I want to be educated so I can increase my ability and be a faithful servant!

Hmmm, please feel free to share your comments. Remain blessed. 2008 continues to remain our year of UNCOMMON TESTIMONIES as we have been EMPOWERED TO PROSPER.

starting small; FINISHING RICH!

As you can see, I'm still meditating on those verses I talked about on Zoe. See here This is just an encouragement on this journey that we are taking that it doesn't matter where we are now, whether in debt or just barely surviving we can make it to the top because our God is a God of increase. By applying practical and biblical principles, we can achieve our financial goals.

We are starting small but by His grace we will finish rich!

Questions to think about. There are no right or wrong answers but I would really like feedback on this, please leave a comment (as an anon if you prefer!). I'll put an answer on there as well. Please make it as personal as you can, no textbook, google or wikipedia answers!Lol!

Question

Money is..........

Freedom is........

I want/don't want to be rich

I want/don't want to be rich because......

I usually set financial goals for myself Yes/No

Remain blessed and highly favoured. 2008 remains our year of uncommon testimonies in Jesus name because we have been EMPOWERED TO PROSPER!

Welcome!

This blog is inspired by a dream and a passion. I have a dream to one day be financially free. By this I mean, not depending on anyone or any job or any government to take care of me financially. A day where my investments bring in more every month than the expenses that I have. A day where I can say "How can I afford it?" instead of "I can't afford it." A day where I can sponsor as many Daniel's as I want without thinking about how I will pay my bills. A day where money can work for me instead of the other way around. It's a dream that I believe is achievable, i'm way off from where I want to be but I know I can get there. Why? The Word says, God has EMPOWERED me to get wealth (Deut 8:18). God is my source and I know He has an inheritance for me.
The reason why I am pitching this at women is because this is not a journey that I can make on my own. I know that when women get together things happen! Also, I get this feeling that this is not an area that women really think about! I'll share some statisics about women and money that I got from a book I read recently later but I think this is really important for us to think about. So share your comments, your knowledge, your experiences.
If there's anything you want to know about or want to share in the area of finance, from information about stocks/shares to there being a big sale at NEXT! please send me an email at amarasviewonstuff@yahoo.com. Also, if you're on a journey like this, I would escpecially love to hear from you.

Remain blessed.