Doing this can increase your ability to reach goals by up to 42%

One of my accounting professors in college told us before an exam to “Create and write the T chart (a way to visualize debits and credits) and the balance sheet on paper 6 times to prepare for this exam, and you will ace it.”

She stressed the importance of doing so six times. No more, no less.

I know repetition is helpful, but c’mon. Six times? On paper?

“Fine, I’ll do it,” I thought to myself.

The first time took over an hour. I was struggling to put everything in its proper place.

The second time took about 30 minutes.

By the 6th time, I could crank out a T chart in less than 10 minutes.

The next day, I walked into the exam, completed the T chart, and was out of class in 15 minutes.

My grade for the exam? 100%.

She was right! There is psychological power from physically writing that we cannot attain through taking notes on our computers or phones. It helps us connect with the subject. It makes learning feel real.

And when it comes to our personal financial goals, that’s exactly what we need. We need our desires and goals to feel real.

We need to get the wants and dreams out of our heads and onto paper. With ink.

And the results are correlated, just like my accounting exam. Some research suggests people may be up to 42% more likely to reach their goals by writing them down!

My encouragement for you this week is to write your financial goals on a piece of paper. Pick 2-5 big goals you’d like to achieve. The purpose isn’t for these to be a perfect representation of the future but to serve as a guide.

By writing our goals and keeping them top of mind, it becomes easier for us to delay gratification or say “no” to lower priorities.

When goals are stuck inside our heads, they lack structure. By writing them, we create structure and give each financial decision texture and purpose.

If you want to take this a step further, after you write them, keep asking yourself why that goal is important to you. Usually when people say they want to “invest more” there’s a deeper driver like fear of running out of money or having to work until they’re 75. Get to the bottom of your “why”.

“Save more” is great, but what does that look like realistically? What are you saving for? And how much should you be saving?

These are the deeper questions we’ll get into next week.

As I work with clients, this is the most important exercise we do. It’s helpful to do this with someone: a partner, friend, or your financial planner. They can ask questions that get to the root of “why” you want to save, or invest, or set your children up for success. Once you know those reasons, the rest of your plan becomes straightforward.

Quote of the week:

You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.

- Abraham Lincoln