Week 4 February 2019 - Budget like a boss

Visualising our goals (in a way that works)

By now you’ve hopefully put a draft budget together (keeping in mind that this is likely to be a work in progress) and you’ve set out one or more financial goals using either the “SMART” or “MOTIVATES ME” process.

The next step is to bring those goals to life in a visual way. Creating a list and/or vision board and putting it somewhere you’ll see on a regular basis helps us to stay focus and can increase the likelihood of us achieving our goals. Skeptical? Have a read of Richard Branson’s blog about his 1972 goals list.

A list is a set of steps you’ll take to achieve your goals, while a vision board is a collage of images and words representing your goals. While some people use vision boards differently, in this context we’re using them as a tool intended to serve as inspiration or motivation for the goals we’ve already set, as well as a way to track our progress.

It’s important to remember that simply fantasising or daydreaming about your goals can be de-motivating if it tricks your brain into thinking you already have achieved it. Goals that aren’t set-up properly can have a similar effect. It’s not enough to visualise what you want - you need to have an action plan and implement it. If you wan’t to read more about that, there’s a great article discussing the psychology here.

Lists and vision boards done well - ones that link to our specific goals and sit alongside our action plan - can be a great tool. The secret is to not just focus on the outcome (what you want) but also the process (how you plan to get there). According to psychologist Barbara Nussbaum, an effective vision board needs to be specific just like the goal it relates to.

This week’s task is to create a list or vision board to help you focus on what you want to achieve personally and financially, and a visual way of tracking your progress towards your goals.