Your Money: The Missing Manual

Chapter 2. The Road to Wealth Is Paved with Goals

"If one moves confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”

—Henry David Thoreau

Whether you want to get rich or just get out of debt, you need to set goals. Goals give you purpose and help you know what your money is for. Think of goals as blueprints and money as the building material you can use to build the life you want.

When you have a fixed purpose, financial decisions are easy. You know that each night out with friends delays your ultimate objective, whether that’s buying a house, saving for a wedding, or starting your own business.

In this chapter, you’ll learn how to translate your dreams and passions into smart financial goals to help direct your saving and investing. But chasing your dreams isn’t easy; you’ll make mistakes and bad things will happen. That’s why this chapter also includes tips for coping with setbacks, and equips you with tools to help you build the financial future you’ve dreamed of.

The Road to Success

Studies have shown again and again that people who pursue meaningful goals enjoy a greater sense of well-being and accomplish more than those without goals. In other words, having goals actually makes you happier. And while some people succeed without setting goals, they’re the exception, not the rule. For the rest of us, goals provide direction. Once you know where you’re headed, you can create a budget, ...