For you to succeed at lifestyle design, you need to be driven by goals. However, it’s possible to have too many goals in too many areas, which can add to your stress levels and lower your productivity. In this series, I’ll be covering what I believe are the main areas you should have goals in. Today is part 1 and we’ll be talking about financial goals.
You should have some sort of financial goal where you aim to be debt free by a certain time, save so much by a certain time, and invest and earn a specific amount back within a certain period. Lack of financial goals is one of the main reasons people end up living week to week or month to month.
Get out of debt first.
If you’re in debt then commit to paying your highest interest debt off first. Once that’s done move on to your next highest interest debt and so forth until all of your debt is paid off.
Once you’re out of debt, start saving.
You can start off small by committing to saving 10% of your income and not touching it. Later on you can up that to 15% and then even 20%. You should know how much you can realistically save. You’ll need to learn not to waste money on constantly eating out, buying the latest gadgets and clothes, etc.
One of the best ways you can save money is by going minimalist. Live life with just the necessities and then use that left over money to save and then invest it into starting your own business and then moving onto creating passive income such as that from investing in real estate.
Increase your financial literacy.
Naturally to do this well you’ll need to increase your financial literacy. I recommend the Rich Dad series by Robert Kiyosaki.
1. Rich Dad Poor Dad.
2. Cashflow Quadrant.
3. Guide To Investing.
4. Retire Young, Retire Rich.
If you read and apply what you read in these four books, you’ll be on your way to learning how to develop passive income and make money work for you.
Pay yourself first.
One rule to help you to save money consistently is to pay yourself first. When you receive a paycheck or other form of income, take your cut first and put it in your savings account. The rest you can live off. Don’t touch that money you’ve saved. Unfortunately most people do the opposite and try to save what they have left over after all their other expenses. The result, there is nothing left over and nothing is saved. Remember, “Pay yourself first!”
Conclusion.
This concludes the first part in this series on the fundamental areas where lifestyle designers should set goals.
Related posts:
Subscribe Now 
G'day! I'm Gordie, founder and editor-in-chief of Lifestyle Design For You. I want to welcome you to the center of the universe when it comes to lifestyle design and personal development blogs. We're a team of ten writers providing you with articles to help nourish your mind and improve your life. Lifestyle design is about designing your life so you can do what you want when you want. 
{ 33 comments… read them below or add one }
I definitely second rich dad poor dad. However with regards to saving and investing, I know how to get 300% interest on your money and I do at the moment.
I read your post on earning pounds and dollars and spending pesos. I agree with you. Cool idea!
Great Post…I totally agree, debt is always the first hurdle to tackle.
And the approach stated is correct – Tackle the higher interest rate first.
I have actually stopped using credit cards all together.
Hi John.
I’m 34 years old and have only just started to use a credit card. However, I have put money onto it so it won’t go into debt. I only use it for practical reason of doing transactions on line. That’s it. I would never use it to buy things on credit.
Thanks for your comment John.
Hey Gordie,
Interesting post. It’s interesting that you mention getting out of debt, and I agree that you need to get out of debt. T. Harv Ecker actually mentions that getting out of debt as a goal would give you just the amount of money you need to get out of debt, but if you set a goal of complete abundance you would get that and clear off your debt.
Yes, you’re right, Srinivas. Only settling on being debt-free for a goal is not enough. One should be aiming much higher than that. However, if you’re in a lot of debt then you can break down your goal into manageable steps, first being get out of debt, second being saving, third being building a business and fourth being investing. Thanks for stopping by!
Great post. Kinda feel guilty at the moment. My biggest problem. Get out of debt. Thanks for the reminder
Hey Robert,
Hang in there. You’ll get that debt out of the way.
Hey Gordie. Thanks for this lesson. I will probably look into the Rich Dad series. I read a book called “Why We Want You To Be Rich” by him and Donald Trump (also the co-authors are Meredith McIver and Sharon Lechter) about the fundamental strategies in lifestyle design and also setting financial goals. It’s a great read.
Hi Tristan,
I actually have that book here at home in my ‘To be read pile’. I still have another book to finish before I read it. Looking forward to it.
As long as debt free doesn’t mean mortgages paid off then I have a chance! Must go a check out the 300% interest post now!
Let’s just say that Robert Kiyosaki doesn’t view a mortgage as an asset. Lol!
Hmmm, I don’t have an overdraft and I only have a pre-pay credit card for Internet purchases, I don’t owe anyone any money and I can save something each month. Sorted that goal Gordie, what’s the next
Perfect! Now start working on a plan to make your money work for you.
I’m lucky to have no really overwhelming debt, so I’m able to save quite a bit. I think that having your finances under very good control is a super important part of lifestyle design. No matter how much people might hate it, you probably need some money to do all the things that have set out to do in your life. Great post.
Thanks Nate. I want to increase my financial literacy more. I plan to have passive income within 5 years.
This is sound advice Gordie. Just this morning I signed up for a Rich Dad Seminar coming to California. Looking forward to it.
Wishing you a scent-sational day!
Patty
Hey Patty,
Please let us know what the seminar is like. I’ve heard mixed reviews. Thanks!
Love the Rich Dad, Poor Dad series of books. Also suggest Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover for those who are fans of debt-free living. His philosophy may seem extreme sometimes, but it really helped our family…
Thanks for that recommendation, Greg. I’ll will check it out.
These are excellent advices. In order to change the results we must change our ways. Few years back I’ve got a big problems about my debt, particularly credit cards. I’m sure glad I have made it through and learned a valuable lessons along the way. Some of them you have nicely presented.
Hey Walter,
Thanks for sharing. I’m happy for you that you made it through and came out with some valuable lessons.
Awesome tip–pay yourself first. It’s so true that we usually do it the other way around, trying to save what we’ve left over.
I also try to simplify my life, not buying “stuff” for the sake of it! And, I find menu planning to be the best way of saving money at the grocery store, it’s worked a treat for my family.
Hi Mel,
Yes, I think planning out weekly menus and then food shopping according to your menu is a great idea. Thanks for the comment.
Having the money to do the things you want in life is everything. Not everything costs money of course, but you do need to eat and have decent clothing and shelter.
Most people focus on saving and reducing expenses and I was no different. It is difficult to free up a lot of money by cutting back. I think it is far more effective to find ways to make more money. Starting a business and working hard at the business more than tripled by previous income. That type of difference makes a huge difference to your bank account.
If you are having trouble saving money, work an extra job for a year or two. That extra money will be 100% savings and you will also have the added benefit of having less time to spend money. Short bursts of serious effort can have huge impacts on the quality of your life in the future.
Invest up front, for the greatest return.
Hey John,
I also agree if you’re really struggling it’s okay to take on extra work for a burst of a few months and save all from the income. Also, as you said, you’ll be too busy to spend your money. It’s a double whammy!
I can’t wait to get rid of my debt…. again. There is nothing I hate more and I will never get myself into it again. Not only does paying it off suck but I’ve hardly got a life because I’m so aggressively trying to get rid of it.
Hey Dan,
When I was in Korea after graduating from university. I lived a super frugal life and managed to pay off my student loan in only 5 months. What a huge feeling of relief having paid that off! All the best Dan for getting rid of that debt.
Love the Rich Dad series it was a real eye opener when I first read it many years ago. I think the important thing about pay yourself first is that you begin to show that you value yourself most. A lot of debt problems (and I have had more than my share) come from adopting dis-empowering attitudes toward money use. These then only become reinforced with the progress of time and outflow of cash to those things which we deem more important than ourselves. When we value ourselves most we begin to make decisions that safeguard our future and build our capacity to contribute.
Thanks for that Michael,
I think people to tend to undervalue ourselves sometimes as a result want things to make us feel empowered.
I’m actually going to be getting a second job soon with the express purpose of getting rid of my debt. I only have $5k of debt, but when you only make $1000/mo, it’s a little difficult to pay off (especially when your rent is $750). With a second job, I can live off the second job and use my current job to pay off the debt within 6 months. I recently wrote (here: ) that debt is one of the #1 things a person should consider getting rid of if they want to travel, and it’s quite true. With debt, my travel locations are limited, as I have to go somewhere I can find work that will pay me enough to send home at least my minimum every month. Without debt, the only thing I have to worry about is my own, current living expenses.
Kelsey´s last blog ..SNOWPOCALYPSE NOW
Hi Kelsey,
Keep us updated of how your progress goes.
Will do. I just realized that I never posted the link to my post in which I mentioned debt, in that comment. Here you go: http://www.driftingfocus.com/blogs/?p=5874
Kelsey´s last blog ..SNOWPOCALYPSE NOW