[00:00:00] Jessica Quindlen: Welcome back to the Sound Cents Podcast. I'm Jessica Quindlen. Happy New Year! Today we are discussing creating a financial plan in the New Year as we dive into 2024. I have two fantastic guests with me today. Katie Griffin, our Community Education Supervisor. Hello Katie.
Katie Griffin: Hello.
Jessica Quindlen: And Emma Protsik, our Financial Coaching Supervisor. Hello Emma.
Emma Protsik: Hi.
Jessica Quindlen: Happy New Year to you both. Let's just dive right in. Why is it important to set financial goals at the beginning of a new year?
Katie Griffin: Yeah, that's a great question. The best way to stick to our goals is to have a plan in place. And you can create a plan at any time. It doesn't have to be at the beginning of the year, but a lot of folks do see the new year as a fresh start. So, it's a great opportunity to start something up if you've been putting it off. And when we're setting goals, it helps us hold ourselves accountable [00:01:00] by creating a plan to meet them.
And you'll see that there might be a shift in your mindset with just having that focus on these goals. And when we take the time to set financial goals and to make these plans to meet them, it almost forces us to spend time reflecting on what's important to us. Like, what are our priorities?
Which is an important step because that helps us identify what is truly meaningful to us, and it'll be something that we're more likely to stick with if it's something that actually means something.
Jessica Quindlen: I love that so much. And I think so often we're making so many resolutions in the new year, why not add this as part of it?
Emma, where can we start creating financial goals for 2024?
Emma Protsik: Yeah, so with any financial goal that you're creating, the first step is always just going to be looking ahead. That's really just figuring out the time frame that you have. So, do you want to get this goal accomplished by the end of the year? Or, what does that look like for you?
Once [00:02:00] you kind of figure out what that time frame looks like and really visualizing yourself in achieving that goal, the next step is then going to be that research. So, you got to figure out the cost of it doing that research. It's also really good to look at options that you have. So maybe you've thought achieving this goal looked a certain way, but there might be another way that you could achieve that. Also, really good time to look at any alternatives too.
Once you figured out your timeframe and you've done the research, figure out what that end goal is, what you're trying to save, that's when you'll set those goals within your budget. So again, maybe it's setting aside a certain amount each month.
So, I have six months to achieve this goal. How much will I have to put aside each month to get my goal by that timeframe that I set?
For getting ready to create those financial goals, it's good to look into different resources that you have available to you. Maybe there are certain programs that could help jumpstart a goal such as house down payment. Also doing your research and looking at resources for different savings products can be extremely beneficial.
So again, maybe your time frame is a little bit [00:03:00] longer. Maybe you can put some of that savings goals into a certificate of deposit that holds it for a certain amount of time, but you get higher interest rate. Maybe it's looking into high yield savings accounts as well.
Jessica Quindlen: I love that. That's fantastic. Katie, bouncing back to you, how can we stay motivated and on track throughout the year? I think we all struggle with that in general and especially when it comes to resolutions. So, what are some great tips we can give for that?
Katie Griffin: One of my favorite things that I like to personally do whenever I have a goal I'm working towards is to set smaller goals throughout the year, throughout, however much time it is.
Jessica Quindlen: I love that. More achievable goals.
Katie Griffin: Yeah, and then celebrate it. When you hit these mini goals along the way, make it a big deal. Even if you think that it's something insignificant or small, make it a big deal. Tell your friends and family about it so that they'll congratulate you and just celebrate. I think so often we just try to minimize what's going on or really try to minimize what's something that we're working [00:04:00] on, but we shouldn't because we're putting hard work in for these things.
So, making a big deal and having those smaller bite sized goals along the way, getting to that big goal that we have at the end, is going to help us see the progress that's being made which is motivating, to see “Oh hey, things are actually changing. I am doing things.”
Jessica Quindlen: I love that. That's fantastic.
Emma Protsik: I think another thing too, for tracking, I've said it so many times on this podcast, but set up those check-ins with yourself to hold yourself accountable. As the year starts kicking up, things get busier. Just try to set up those times to check in with yourself, reevaluate those goals as well to make sure you are setting yourself up for success.
Jessica Quindlen: That's great. I love that. Would you recommend, monthly, weekly? I mean, I guess obviously what works for you, but just any advice on that?
Emma Protsik: Definitely depends. I think monthly is a great place to start to look at those goals, but again, it's going to be different. So maybe your timeframe is shorter, so you want to check in every single week and how you're doing.
Jessica Quindlen: [00:05:00] Great. If listeners are feeling overwhelmed as financially, we certainly can, what is a great way to sort of rank or differentiate your goals so that they feel more attainable throughout the year?
And I know we talked about making those micro goals and those smaller ones, but what are some other ways?
Emma Protsik: I think most of us have multiple financial goals that we want to accomplish trying to tackle at the same time, so it’s important to be realistic. There might be a financial goal that you set that is completely doable if you're just focusing on that goal, but mixing in others, that's where people feel overwhelmed.
It's really about prioritization. And again this is, dependent on your personal situation, but that prioritization can be time-based. Maybe a goal is coming up quicker than the other goals, so you're putting a little bit more effort, a little bit more into savings or paying down that specific debt.
Could also be based on your values, the importance that you have for achieving this goal. I would really recommend as you're doing your research, planning out those goals, setting those mini/micro goals, to really determine the [00:06:00] ranking. Sit down, think about your values, take a step back. What really matters to you and what's going to help you get the life that you are trying to achieve financially.
Jessica Quindlen: I love that. Any sort of final words of wisdom or encouragement for our listeners?
Katie Griffin: Well, you know, Emma just said it. Being realistic with your goals. I think that's going to be really important. If we set unrealistic goals, then we're going to get discouraged. So, let's not set ourselves up for failure that way.
Be realistic with what it is that you're trying to achieve and just know that you got this. You can do it. Get your plan in place and know you can do it.
Emma Protsik: Katie, that's great. I always say that I do believe the biggest financial mistake that you could make is not trying or giving up on those goals.
Life gets in the way. Things might kind of throw those initial plans that you set off track. It can be super easy to compare our situation, especially financially, to others. Especially if you're going after those same goals as some of your friends and family. It is challenging to achieve financial goals. It takes time. It takes [00:07:00] work, but just remember that you can do those hard things.
Jessica Quindlen: I love that. That's also fantastic.
Katie Griffin: Yeah. Give yourself that grace. Absolutely.
Jessica Quindlen: Yes. Give yourself grace. Life happens. Well, that brings us to the end of our show. Emma, Katie, thank you so much for being here.
Katie Griffin: Thank you. [00:08:00]
Jessica Quindlen: Thank you for listening to Sound Cents from Ent Credit Union. Be sure to follow our podcast as well as rate and review us. I'm Jessica Quindlen. I will see you next week, same time, same place.
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