If You're Setting a Goal Make Sure it's S.M.A.R.T.

The 5 Step Process to Setting Up a Surefire Goal

Here's the problem I have with goal setting - most people don't know what the heck they're doing.

People rarely ever set it down to write them and even when they do, they barely have a clear-cut and effective strategy on how to do it. So I wanted to break down how to create an effective and achievable goal, that is sure to succeed and not fail like the rest of them do. 

A strategy that has been often used and popularized is the S.M.A.R.T goal method, originally created by George T. Doran in 1981. In the next couple of sentences, I'm going to explain why goal setting is crucial to achieving financial freedom, how to set write one out, and then end with a solid financial example.


A goal without a deadline is just a dream.

If you didn't know by now setting goals and intentions is super important in helping us to realize our dreams. A goal can be for the short term or the long term, but we must be concise and detailed in its creation. Of course, where most people go wrong is that when we do set up a goal it's either:

a) very surface level
b) not detailed enough and without a step-by-step plan
and
c) not written down

While stating your intentions and putting out your desires into the Universe is good, you also have to ensure you do the work and have recorded written proof of you making a commitment with yourself in holding yourself accountable towards that specific goal.

How do we make sure we do that when we're setting goals? Let's dive in.

What's a S.M.A.R.T. Goal and How to Do It

A S.M.A.R.T goal is a well-established tool that you can use to plan and achieve your goals. With a SMART goal, the S stands for specific, the M stands for measurable, the A stands for attainable, the R stands for realistic, and the T stands for time.

S - Specific

You want to ask questions that are going to align with the five W's (Who, What, When, Where, and Why). What do you want to accomplish? Where is the goal when to be achieved? When do I want to achieve this goal? And why do I want to achieve this goal?

M - Measurable

You're going to ask yourself questions like How many? How much? How do I know if I have reached my goal? Or what is my indicator of progress? The goal has to be measurable, to make sure that you're keeping yourself on track.

A - Achievable

How are you going to know if you can achieve this goal or not? Do you even have the resources and the capabilities to achieve this goal? If you want to pay off debt, and you don't have a job and there's no income coming in, then how will you ensure this goal is achievable or not? Don't set yourself up for failure.

Have others done it successfully before? Is this a goal that's ever been done? Not to say that just because it's never been done, you can't do it, but if you're like "I want to pay off $100,000 in debt in two months!". Has that ever realistically happened to anyone? What are the chances?

R - Relevant

A SMART goal has to be relevant in that it can be realistically achieved, given the available resources and time. So, you know, you want to ask yourself questions like is the goal realistic and within reach, given the time and the resources that I have? Or do I have enough money and time to commit to achieving this goal? 

T - Time-Bound

Make sure your goals are time-bound. This is absolutely critical and what makes up any kind of realistic goal. You can't just say, oh yeah, I'm gonna pay off my $20,000 debt as soon as possible. When and how?

You have to be more specific because if there is no time constraint, there will be no sense of urgency. If you just say, I'm going to pay off x,y,z debt and don't set a timeframe it could take you a lifetime to pay off this debt. It could take you 20 years instead of 5 to pay your $20,000 student loan if you don't write down a strategic and smart goal. With setting a deadline you're almost most likely to be more aggressive and committed to paying it down.

So questions like does my goal have a deadline? By when do I want to achieve this goal? Is super important.

The $9,000 Student Loan Example

Let's try out this example. Let's say you're a recent college graduate and you graduated with $9,000 in student loan debt. You could write out something like this:

Starting today by August 1st, 2021, I will have paid off $9,000 of my student loan debt. I will take out $500 from my bi-weekly paycheck from my full-time job at LuluLemon and put $500 straight toward my student loans. If I do this consistently for the next year, I will be sure to have paid off $9,000 of student loans by August 1st, 2021. 

When we realize the goal, whether it's paying down debt, whether it's a certain amount of money that you want to save up to build your emergency fund - it could even be for setting goals in other areas of your life like your health, your relationships - all your goals can be created in the S.M.A.R.T way.

So go out there and do some of your own goal setting, possibly even for the upcoming new year or even what you want to manifest for 5, 10, or 15 years down the road. Try writing some of your financial goals out and let me know what you think. Have you maybe already done a SMART goal in the past and it helped you achieve a particular goal? Are there any small wins or celebratory wins from creating a SMART goal? Drop a comment below.

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If you're ready to create a S.M.A.R.T goal after reading this blog post, here's a link to my customized S.M.A.R.T. Goal worksheet. You can also sign-up to watch my free masterclass on "Saving While Living Your Best Life", to learn about all the savings hacks and tools that will instantly have you saving more money today without having to even budget. You can catch the masterclass replay here.

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