As 2025 draws nearer, now is the perfect time to think about your aspirations for the year ahead and beyond. Read on to discover some simple questions that may help you assess if your life goals have changed.
Last month, you read about 10 financial tasks to complete to get your finances on track for the new year. With the foundations set, you can start to think about what you want to achieve.
Setting goals is a crucial part of financial planning. After all, if you don’t have a direction, how do you know if you’re on track? Without a clearly defined goal, you could miss out on opportunities simply because you haven’t considered or prepared for them.
Even if you’ve already set goals, reviewing them can be a useful exercise.
Your goals can change during your lifetime. Perhaps you’d previously planned to retire at 65, but you’re enjoying your position less now. You might decide you want to move into a less demanding role, try something different, or transition into retirement sooner. Reflecting these wishes in your updated goals could help you adjust your financial plan to accommodate them.
So, here are three simple questions that could help you identify if your life goals should be updated in 2025.
1. Are your existing goals still right for you?
A useful first step is to review the goals you’ve previously made – do they still reflect what you want to get out of life?
You might find that these goals still align with what you want to achieve, or only a small adjustment is needed to make them right for you.
Other times, you might find that your outlook has completely changed. Perhaps welcoming your first child has shifted your priorities, or an experience you enjoyed recently means you want to make a lifestyle change.
Negative events might affect your goals too, such as a relationship breaking down or work becoming more stressful.
2. What makes you happy?
Spend some time pondering what makes you happy and helps you feel fulfilled in your life now.
You might say that spending time with your family or friends is what puts a smile on your face. Or volunteering in your local community gives you a sense of purpose and pride.
While financial planning considers the long-term, the present is just as important. Saving all your money for the future, but not enjoying life now could leave you feeling demotivated and missing out on experiences that are important to you.
Defining what makes you happy could help you create a financial plan that balances these experiences with long-term goals.
For example, if you want to spend more time with your children or grandchildren, could you reduce your working hours without compromising your retirement? A financial plan could help you assess if that’s possible.
3. What are you looking forward to in the future?
Finally, it’s time to consider your long-term goals – when you think about the future, what gets you excited?
It’s never too soon to think about your long-term goals, even if they’re decades away. Some goals might require you to work towards them for years or are easier to manage if you start thinking about them sooner.
Your retirement is a good example of this. When you first start working, retirement might be 40 years or more away. Yet, if you want to enjoy a comfortable lifestyle once you step away from work, it could be beneficial to think about right away. Contributing to a pension at the start of your career could mean you need to add far less to reach your goals thanks to the power of compounding returns.
So, setting out long-term goals now could help your money go further and mean you’re far more likely to turn them into a reality.
Don’t forget to review your financial plan after setting goals
A financial review alongside updating your goals may be important, especially if you’ve updated them.
Carrying out a review could help you assess if your new goals are realistic with the steps you’re currently taking or if you need to make adjustments. For instance, you might plan to retire a few years earlier and visit exotic locations – do you need to increase your pension contributions to do this? Or could you use other assets to fund your trip of a lifetime?
Speak to us about your goals
As your financial planner, understanding your goals is important to us. Knowing what’s important to you means we’re in a better position to work with you to create a financial plan that will help you build the life you want. So, if your aspirations for 2025 or further ahead have changed, please get in touch to arrange a meeting.
Please note:
This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at retail clients only.
The value of your investments (and any income from them) can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.
Investments should be considered over the longer term and should fit in with your overall attitude to risk and financial circumstances.
