When it comes to finances, dream big and set goals

comes. Do this with your other goals, whether it is to pay down debt or save money for a car or house downpayment.

The next step in breaking down these goals to attainable chunks is to determine what you need to do to be able to come up with the amount you need. Will you need to lessen the food budget? Perhaps you might need to stop eating out for a while.

What if mere belt-tightening measures will not be enough? You might need to be a bit more aggressive. Outline what you need to do to earn extra money. Perhaps you can take a second job, sell things you don’t need or if you feel you deserve it, negotiate for a raise.

The whole idea of breaking down your goals is to make them specific and attainable. You’ve already seen the big picture when you chose the three goals that will describe where you see yourself in five or ten years. Now, you need to concretize what you can do on a daily, weekly or monthly basis to make that view a reality.

5. Track your progress.

It’s not enough that you write down your action plan for achieving your goals. Now, you need to constantly monitor where you are as far as achieving them is concerned. It would be ideal to track your progress on a monthly basis. Ask yourself if you were able to put to action your plans for the month. If you haven’t, determine the areas where you failed. Perhaps you overspent or went over the budget.

Perhaps an unexpected expense came up and you had to realign funds. Whatever the reason, find out what is causing the leak so you can put a plug on it.

A word on unexpected expenses is appropriate at this time: You need to set aside funds that will be able to deal with these unseen emergencies. Without a rainy day fund, you’ll have a hard time achieving your financial goals since you will always be reallocating funds you’ve set aside for your goals. Experts recommend setting aside three to six months of living expenses to help you deal with financial emergencies.

6. Congratulate yourself for milestones achieved.

If you succeeded in saving money or paying debt then give yourself a pat on the back. Look at this as an opportunity to encourage yourself to keep pushing towards your goals. The road is definitely not easy as far as reaching financial security goes