KEY POINTS:
So what will it be for 2008? Fat and broke by December 31? Or will next year see you achieve all your financial goals?
The answer may not lie in making New Year's resolutions. The problem with resolutions such as "save money" or "lose weight" is that they rarely work because they're not measurable.
"I see a resolution as a fluffy goal," says Mike Handcock, author, motivational speaker and property investor.
More specific goals with targets attached would be:
* Lose 1kg of weight every two weeks.
* Save 10 per cent of income each month.
* Build two new customers a month.
* Join KiwiSaver by January 31.
* Reduce mortgages to achieve a 60 per cent loan-to-value ratio.
Don't leave writing down next year's goals until you've got a hangover on New Year's Day. The financial experts I spoke to this week had already set their goals for 2008. In fact, Handcock has personal, business and financial goals set until 2012, as well as an annual goal template for next year.
His investment goals for 2008 are:
* Develop 18 new properties across New Zealand.
* Do two property flips (quick flicks) in Dubai.
* Develop resort-style accommodation in either Phuket (Thailand) or India.
Whatever your financial goals, simply writing them down isn't enough. Turning them into action is the sign of a good investor, businessperson or goal-oriented individual.
Martin Hawes, TV presenter and author, says goals should be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) and be in writing.
You cannot fib or fudge smart goals that are in writing - you have either achieved them or you haven't - and so they are psychologically powerful.
At the very least, you should have a goal for what your net worth will be at the end of the following year and a goal for your surplus of income over expenditure.
To turn his goals into reality, financial coach Anton Nadilo looks at them every morning, when his brain is fresh, and at bedtime, so his subconscious brain can digest them overnight. Nadilo's goals are set up as screensavers on his mobile telephone and his computer, and as reminders and calendar items in Microsoft Outlook. "Even if I delete the reminder, I've still seen it for two or three seconds."
Some of his clients take other approaches such as having "dream boards" on their fridges, bathroom mirrors or even the back of the toilet door that help them visualise their goals. Nadilo recommends that those clients who tend to spend money as soon as they see it label their credit and Eftpos cards: "Will this financial decision move me closer to my goals or further away?"
It really works, says Nadilo, for clients who find themselves thinking of putting a plasma TV "on the drip".
The dream board approach helped Steve Brooks, organiser of the Canterbury Property Investors' Association young punters club and a millionaire by the age of 19. "I used to have a picture of a Lamborghini, one million dollars and a massive boat above my bed. Every night, I used to visualise myself with these goods. I also had a quote written at the bottom that read, 'I am going to become a millionaire by the time I'm 21'."
Nadilo, whose 2008 financial goal is to buy six or seven properties worth in the vicinity of $3 million, cuts his goals down into weekly bite-sized chunks. He then has an hour-long planning and review session with himself every Thursday at 4pm, where he monitors progress towards his goals, sets small action points for the week and schedules time to work on them.
The bite-size chunk approach to buying property, says Nadilo, involves a target of viewing five properties a week and buying one every two months on average. That way the goal doesn't become overwhelming.
Handcock takes a different approach, setting aside chunks of time to achieve his goals.
He has scheduled a week in February to get the ball rolling and two weeks later in the year. "If I can't achieve my goals in the 120 hours I have allocated, I will employ someone else and pay them to help me."
Wherever he travels in the world, Handcock takes a journal and his "manifestation board" in his hand luggage. The "board" is a plastic folder that contains a list of all of his goals as well as cashflow and budgets for his business interests and investments. Whenever he digs into the bag and can't find what he's looking for, Handcock reads this information instead. He also meditates regularly on planes.
Jeff Matthews, senior financial adviser at Spicers Wealth Management, recommends that as well as setting monetary targets, investors also set a goal to enjoy themselves - especially those in retirement. "Some have been investing for a lifetime so that their snotty-nosed 45 to 50-year-old [offspring] can blow the lot."
Over and above Microsoft Outlook and screensavers, there are many goal setting software programs and templates available such as GoalPro 2008, GoalMaker and Life Plan Writer.
Finally, says Handcock, when people are goal planning over the next few weeks, they should be thinking about the reality of where they will be on December 31, 2008. "That way it is not a resolution or a goal. It is a reality or you are not going to achieve it."
The rules
* Keep your goals specific and measurable.
* Make sure they're achievable.
* Write them down.
* Divide major goals into bite-sized pieces.
* Regularly remind yourself of your goals and review how you're doing.
* Make one of your goals to enjoy yourself.
* Diana Clement is an Auckland-based personal finance and investment writer.
