My Priorities at the Moment
I like to have a larger, but not too large, goal in mind at any given moment. It gives me some focus and a reason to do things like pass up a daily latte. (I don’t drink coffee, but you get the point.) For various reasons, at the moment I don’t have a good mid-term (3-6 year) goal. I have some long term goals, e.g. retire at 50, but that’s relatively nebulous and subject to course corrections along the way. I also have some short term goals, but since my debt except mortgage is paid off, most are very short. E.g. a vacation at the end of the summer, a new vacuum cleaner, etc.
I have an emergency fund set aside, and I could increase it but it covers 6 months and increasing it isn’t a priority. I’m covering all my bills out of current income, including the outrageous heating bills (not on budget plan this year), so my frugality has seemed a little wan and lackluster.
There are some (personal) reasons that I don’t have a medium term goal. There are some very good reasons for abandoning my previously set one, and I’ve accomplished the one before that, so I’m kinda adrift. So I did some brainstorming. Originally I was just going to pick one of the goals I brainstormed and go for it. But it’s hard to go after a goal with gusto if you’re not committed. Brainstorming is a fun procrastination technique, so I did it anyway. Out of all those ideas there are a couple of winners, and a couple that are exciting to think about (e.g. I could buy a boat and sail around the world) but wouldn’t necessarily be that great to live (I get seasick). I took all the ideas that were either rational or very exciting, and figured out what the next steps would be. And in most of the cases they really are the same. Save up some cash, get rid of clutter, get things in order, get a better job, finish up here.
Having all the goals need the same steps seemed like a clear sign that those steps needed to be done no matter what. In six months or so I’ll be in a better position to choose a medium term goal, and I’ll be part way there already. Obviously the goal will dictate the amounts (e.g. amount of money, amount of clutter to get rid of), but I can still head in the right direction. So I printed out a few things to remind me of all of the goals and stuck them up on a bulletin board. I’m sure most of you out there use this technique, but I heartily recommend it. So now there’s a picture of a lake house, an apartment building, a boat and a flat in Paris. Instead of feeling adrift, goalless, and spending money frivolously I’m looking at the board excited with all the possibilities.