5 Ways to Implement Your 2020 Investment Goals
Like many, you’ve no doubt set personal and professional goals for 2020. Whether they relate to your employment, relationships, health or investments, setting goals is a big step towards making changes in your life. However, the truth remains there’s no point in setting goals if you don’t have a plan for implementing them.
If you’ve set investment goals for the new year, it’s vital to have a plan in place to implement them. Do you know how you’re going to achieve your goals? Have you thought about when you expect to achieve them? Do you have a plan to measure progress or keep yourself accountable?
We know that setting goals is only half the story. Implementing them requires a plan to give you a fighting chance to achieve your investment goals. To help you follow through and implement your goals, here are 5 ways you can stay on track and achieve real change this year.
Understand the Details
You might have a goal to increase your cash flow or to move from negative to positive gearing this year, but what does that look like? What are the specific numbers you need to meet to achieve these goals? It’s impossible to meet your goals if you don’t know the details. If increased cash flow is your aim, set a target percentage or monthly figure to meet. If you want to finally positively gear your investments, understand the numbers so you know what you need to do to get there. Make sure your investment goals are as specific as possible so you understand them and can make a realistic plan to meet them.
Set a Realistic Timeframe
Is it possible to move from negative to positive gearing during the calendar or coming financial year? How will the coming months affect your expected cash flow? It’s demoralising to put a goal in place for the year only to find you have no realistic chance of achieving it. When you understand the details, it’s much easier to set realistic timeframes and identify whether your goals are achievable in the short or long term. Setting a timeframe for each goal helps you stay on track, provides clarity on how much you can afford to invest along the way and guides you on how long it will actually take to reach your goal.
Identify Measures of Success
With the specifics locked in and a realistic timeframe in place, you need a way to measure your progress and success in meeting your goals. How are you going to know if you are on track? It’s vital to know what success will look like along the way as you continue to work towards your goals. Depending on your goal, you may analyse the performance of your property at monthly or quarterly intervals to measure progress or keep regular tabs on your levels of debt to ensure you are still on track. The ability to measure your progress as you work towards your goal is key to successful implementation.
Analyse the Data
When it comes to implementing investment goals you need to become comfortable with analysing data. There’s no point in identifying measures of success if you can’t interpret the data that will inform your decision making along the way. Analysing data doesn’t have to be a daunting prospect. It can be as simple as calculating your monthly cash flow in a spreadsheet and setting up a line graph to monitor progress. You can also engage a financial planner to analyse the data for you, providing you with even more information and advice on the implementation of your investment goals.
Stay Accountable
The single most important way to implement your 2020 investment goals is to ensure you stay accountable. The desire to improve your financial position isn’t enough on its own – you need a practical approach to stay on track and achieve your goals. Build in a weekly “goal check” into your schedule to keep you focused on your goal. Arrange regular meetings with an expert adviser to review progress and provide guidance on how to continue to meet your goals in an ever-evolving economic environment. Whatever you do, ensure you stay accountable as you work to implement your investment goals.
Vision Property & Finance is ready to help you implement your 2020 investment goals, armed with the knowledge and experience you need to achieve success. We work with you to make the most of your investment and maximise your return. For more information, call 02 8354 3000 to contact our Sydney office or 02 4014 1999 to talk to someone in our Newcastle office. You can also contact us here.
