Meet Alana, a permanent bank teller with a steady salary and benefits. On the surface everything appears stable; Alana’s bills are paid; she can save a little and still go out on weekends. But at the same time, Alana feels like she isn’t making any progress with money. She works hard every day but somehow when she looks around there’s nothing to show for it.

As the old saying goes – if you fail to prepare, prepare to fail. One of the main reasons Alana is having a hard time getting ahead financially is because she doesn’t know what she wants to focus on. You see, to grow wealth you must set goals, prioritize and stay focused until they are achieved.

Here’s how:

1. Prioritize. Having too many goals is just as bad as not having any goals at all. Narrow down the top two or three things you want to achieve in the short (1-3 years) and long-term (3+ years).
2. Set a time frame. Think “big wins” and “little wins”.  A big win might be saving $100,000.00 cash to make a down-payment on a piece of land in five years. A little win might be upgrading your car next year or taking a trip to Grenada for a long weekend in six months. No matter your goals, it’s important to structure them in such a way that you have big and small wins along the way.
3. Spending plan. To achieve your financial goals, your spending behavior should be guided by a spending plan. To save $100,000.00 cash in five years some sacrifices will need to be made. That’s $20,000 a year or roughly $1,667 per month. To do this, you may need to make small adjustments. Liming 3 nights a week, cut it down to 2, and save an extra couple hundred bucks every week. Want to fete? Pick and choose your fete list so you don’t get caught up in the hype. Feeling to eat out, but you have Sunday lunch leftover, curb that craving and heat up your mac pie and stew chicken. Either way, trust the process and stick to your budget, you will get there eventually.

So, there you have it, Alana can indeed get out of her financial rut once she sets proper financial goals. Remember to be realistic and prioritize your goals, always set a time frame and stick to a spending plan to get you there.