Stepping Stones: Why Small Goals Tend To Help Bigger Picture

Anyone who puts themselves in the category of financially challenged will argue up and down that they are trying their best but saving money is just too hard and out of reach for them at the moment and probably will be for the foreseeable future.

The problem with that mindset is that they’re looking at money, saving it and budgeting accordingly as too big of a picture and instead should be focusing on small steps or minor milestones that, at the very least, get you back on the right track.

Think about how you’d feel when you hear reports that less than 20 percent of the population has a thousand dollars in their savings account, and if you would fall into that criteria. Chances are you’d take a look at your situation and feel as though you’ve already been defeated.

But having a savings account isn’t about $10,000 in the bank but instead should focus on getting to $500 milestone or even just a thousand.

Taking that as an action item of sorts takes the pressure of the fact that you’re not necessarily where you want to be but imagine just how it would feel when you hit that modest, albeit important, goal?

Even just $500 or a thousand dollars in the bank shows that you can find the ability and wherewithal to save even though you thought it was impossible. Maybe as a result of raising that money, you added a new budget or updated your old one. Perhaps you decided to get a part-time job that fits your schedule or sell a few things around your house.

As much as $500 doesn’t seem like a lot of money, the more important part is that you hit a financial goal that previously was unattainable in your eyes.

Another goal that can’t be overlooked is that want and need to pay off debt, and even if you have quite a bit, you can think through the process with a game plan that allows you to break it down one loan at a time.

Debt isn’t about the total number, and too many of us believe the opposite. Debt should be about paying off small debt and then working your way to the larger ones in that escalating order. The trick is once a small debt is paid off, take what you were paying on it and add it to the next biggest debt.

Doing so is going to lead you to a much faster version of paying off debt and keep you out of it, long-term.

If you feel as though the weight of money as a whole is too much to bear, then break it down to the point that you’re setting your sights on little mile markers, rather than that longer distance directly to the finish line.