Teri Twarkins is a Financial Advisor at UBS Financial Services in Phoenix, Arizona. She employs her experience in the financial services industry in serving individual clients, with a special interest in working with business owners.  Prior to joining UBS, she was a financial advisor at Smith Barney and a product manager at Wells Fargo. Teri's received her MBA from Arizona State University. In her spare time she enjoys playing Ultimate Frisbee and spending time with her boyfriend Tyson and his children Ethan and Jade.

How Do I Define and Accomplish My Life Goals?

Identifying personal and family goals is fun… putting timeframes to the goals is challenging, and putting financial requirements to the goals is difficult.  But you then can find yourself in a place where you have control over the priority of your goals, and you have an understanding of what it takes to get there.  Accomplishing your personal goals can rank among the most rewarding experiences of your lifetime.  And, going through this process on a regular basis is not only exciting, but can draw you closer to your family, and get you all on the same page. 

The process of identifying and taking steps toward accomplishing your goals can be a daunting task.  Below is an outline that you can use to further your life success. 

Step 1: What are my/our life goals?

This is the fun part… dedicate some time to prioritize your goals.  This can involve a spouse, a significant other, family or friends.  What are you dreams?  What would you like to be doing in 5 years, 10 years, 30 or even 50 years?  Do you plan to start your own practice?  Do you want to retire at 50?  Do you want to spend time overseas helping a population in need?  Do you plan to accomplish research goals? Do you want to have children or can you visualize spending time with your grandkids?

I encourage individuals and families to divide goals into categories:  career, lifestyle, family, health, religious/personal, other. 

Below is an example of goals from a family in their mid-30s:

1. Career (MD): Wife plans to continue current practice with large group, with the goal of creating a smaller partnership after 5-7 years
2. Career (spouse): Husband is home until both kids are in school, taking on some part-time consulting work, then go back to work full-time starting business and hiring others to grow
3. Lifestyle: Purchase larger home in the next 2 years
4. Lifestyle: Purchase a second home in the next 5-7 years
5. Lifestyle: Take good vacations – 4 weeks/year for now and 6-8 weeks/year in 10 years
6. Lifestyle: Work part time when kids are out of college – at age 55
7. Family: Send kids to private high school, age 2, 4 and 5. 
8. Family: Fund college for kids and help them with weddings/first home purchase
9. Health: Continue healthy lifestyle – active vacations, active lifestyle
10. Other: Take care of aging parents

Remember that these goals will change over time.  Some individuals are afraid of the finality of writing down goals, but I encourage frequent updating of goals – this should be a working document. 

Step 2: What is the time horizon I/we need to accomplish each goal?

The next step is to divide the goals into short and long term, and to put a date to each goal.  One tip: rather than using "5 years" or "10 years" as a timeframe, put actual years to the plan.  This will keep you from continuing to push out the timeframe for your plans. 

Short Term Goals (next 5 years)

Long Term Goals (5 years to age 60)

Remember: Don't let the timeframes intimidate you!

Step 3: How much will it cost me/us to accomplish these goals?

This is the toughest part of the exercise.  Now, we need to take each goal and include a cost in today's dollars.  This is where you may need a financial advisor to step in and help with some of the numbers. 

Short Term Goals (next 5 years)

Long Term Goals (5 years to age 60)

Step 4: Put together a plan: Prioritize and invest

Once you've put numbers to the goals, you will want to prioritize the goals and determine how to best accumulate the necessary money.  For example, funding college may be more important than retiring early.  Or, having a second home may not be as important as taking big vacations.  This type of detailed planning allows you to have more choices and to proactively make decisions about your lifestyle. 

Working with an advisor, you will be able to determine the annual amounts you need to save in order to reach your goals.  Many clients choose to fund some items monthly (like retirement and education savings plans) and fund others with bonuses and excess cash. 

When you take control of your income and your goals, you take control of your life.