How to Reach your Goals

I am not really one to make New Years Resolutions because I never stick with them for more than a couple of weeks. This year, I decided I was going to set a couple of goals for the year anyway. One was to pay off our car loan, and the other is to find a teaching job. I heard a tip a while ago , that makes so much sense, but is what I was missing before. They said that the best way to make and achieve goals is to be able to create steps that will help get you to your end result. In order to achieve these goals, I thought of some steps I could take that will help us.

 Goal number 1: Paying off our car loan, is a huge goal in itself. It is going to take careful budgeting, picking up extra shifts at work and sacrificing some things we may want to do or buy. Looking at the number we owe can be overwhelming. To make the number a little less intimidating, I calculated about how much extra we would need to put on the loan each month. That number was still a little high, so I calculated about how much we would need to set aside each paycheck for the loan. This number is still high, but it is more manageable. We use a lot of tips from Dave Ramsey. If you haven't read his book The Total Money Makeover, I would highly recommend it if you are looking to get out of debt. A tip of Ramsey is to give every penny a name. My husband and I set a budget together, encorporating the extra money for our loan. Sticking to our budget is a great start of achieving this goal.
Any goal you set should have a measurable outcome and you should be able to take steps to reach your goal. Being healthy is a great goal: but how are you going to be healthier? Maybe, add a fruit or veggie to each meal, and work out 3 nights a week. etc. If your goal is just to be healthier, it will probably just stay a goal, and not become a reality. A plan is essential.

My second goal is to find a teaching job. For this one, I am taking steps to better my chances of getting a job. I have been subbing as much as I can to get my names into school. I also have an interview lined up for a long term sub position. This would be a nice experience to have and will look good on a resume. A project I have been working on this week is creating a professional teaching portfolio to bring with me to interviews. Each week I have also taken time to job search. I actively take steps towards getting a job.

If you set goals for the New Year they are most likely different than mine. The same principle can be applied though. Create a plan of steps you can take. If you haven't set goals, it's not too late. :)

What are your goals?
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