Financial Goal Setting: Planning for Your Planning is not Necessarily Overkill!

As the year starts winding down, and we basically have about three weeks left of 2021, the time to evaluate strategies, make plans and set financial and investment goals for the new year is just around the corner.

Past experience has taught me that it's a good idea to start your planning process for the coming year well before the new year actually comes along. That way, we give ourselves several weeks to brainstorm and remember ”all the bits and pieces” we want to include in our goal setting.

Winter is coming...

Just a Few Rough Notes

I'm not talking about creating a full plan here, I'm just talking about keeping a folder open in the back of your mind to jot down mental notes — better yet actual notes on a piece of paper or a notepad document — so that when you have summarized and evaluated 2021 and are ready to actually finalize your plans for 2022 you're not fumbling around trying to remember ”oh I wanted to include this and I wanted to include that...”

I say this from the experience of arriving in mid-March only to remember something "I'd meant to try" at a point where "retrofitting" the big map for the year becomes a pain in the rear.

The thing about good planning is that it is precisely that: good planning. Good planning — at least to me — means that you're making a pretty thorough review of your ideas and possibilities, and deliberately sorting through what's important and what's not so important.

No New Year's Resolutions!

That's one of the reasons I never engage in so called ”New Year's Resolutions.” Invariably, those tend to be made on the spur of the moment, often in the company of friends with whom (A) you've been drinking and (B) you are having a gentle ”competition” and so such "resolutions" end up being ill conceived dreams that you are likely already failing at when we tear the month of January off the calendar.

Granted, I have probably reached the age of ”old codger hood” meaning that I'm not as adventurous and adaptable as I once was!

Still, I think it's a pretty good idea for everyone to set their goals and aspirations for any year on a pretty solid and well thought out foundation rather than on the handful of things you happen to remember at the exact moment you sit down to make your 2022 plan.

Of course, keep in mind that this is what works for me. I like to work with structure and fairly solid numbers rather than a constantly changing scenario. However that's not to say that when conditions radically change that I won't modify my plans.

Anyway, I have found it helpful to keep a small box — remember those little boxes we used to get checkbooks and checks in? Remember paper checks? — on the shelf by where I work, and it's labeled "Next year?" As some idea suddenly comes to me, I just write it on a scrap of paper and toss it in the box... and otherwise forget about it.

Between Christmas and New Years, I'll be looking through that box to see what sort of stuff I came up with during the year... and what I can use, and what I need to just toss out.

Last Year's Template...

Part of a sound plan also includes a review of the "template" I used for the previous year's benchmarking.

Did my planning setup actually deliver the summary information I was hoping to keep track of? Or is it turning out to be a pain in the butt to retrieve it?

I hate wasting time, which is why I pay a lot of attention to the "container" I use for planning and benchmarking. If it's difficult to use, I know myself... I'll just slack off on using it.

Thanks for reading, and good luck with setting your goals and plans for 2022!

How about YOU? Do you make detailed financial plans and goals for the new year? Or do you just "plan as you go?" Do you have benchmarks that tell how well you're ACTUALLY doing? Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

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