I’ve been wearing a Fitbit for almost two years now. Each day, when I’ve met my step goal, it gently buzzes to let me know – a “high five” of sorts. It syncs with my devices of choice and emails are sent automatically to let me know about various points of information, such as weekly summaries of my physical fitness goals or when my Fitbit needs to be charged. The last time that I received one of these alerts, it made me think more about how helpful it is to get ongoing feedback on my fitness goals. Monitoring financial fitness is just as important.
The first thing I love is that it’s very motivational to not just “think” I’ve walked enough but to have some independent verification. I’m pretty sure that I tend to think I’ve eaten less, or eaten better, or have gotten more physical activity than is sometimes actually the case. It’s part of my optimistic nature, which is usually a good thing, but it does potentially get in way of reality checks. My fitness tracker is an independent tool that doesn’t lie. Which means that when it buzzes, I’m very motivated because I trust the message. The other big plus of regular tracking is that it’s a lot easier to make course corrections and improve healthy habits along the way.
These two powerful benefits of fitness tracking devices can easily be translated into our financial fitness. When we set financial goals for our future, it’s not a one-time event. We’ve got to track our progress along the way. We usually have short term, intermediate term, and long-term goals. These goals also have different priorities and have different potential obstacles to success. Life happens, and our priorities can – and often do – change.
The financial plan to reach our goals needs the process of check-ins and course corrections. Monitoring the progress toward your financial goals is vital for a financial plan that will truly be successful for you. Some of my most important and rewarding work is client review meetings. The foundational purpose is for this “financial fitness tracking”. To review, and make recommendations for course corrections if needed, and hopefully, to also be a source of trusted motivation. In order for these review meetings to be the best they can be, they need to be done on a regular basis and done using accurate information. If it’s been a while since your last checkup, I encourage you to review your financial “vitals” and think about changes if needed, or, give yourself a “high five”!
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