We often discuss the importance of financial goal-setting. But here’s something we don’t talk about nearly enough:
What if we don’t know what we want?
What if our goals change?
And what if “goals” as we traditionally define them—fixed, measurable, and final—don’t actually reflect how life works?
The Truth About Goals: They’re Just Educated Guesses
Don’t get me wrong. Having goals is helpful. But do you want to set them in stone, or be flexible?
We don’t know what the future holds. Life throws curveballs—sometimes wonderful, sometimes heartbreaking. And we also don’t really know our future selves. What feels urgent or important today might shift dramatically in five or ten years. And your financial plan could easily consider a time horizon of 30, 40, 50, or even more years.
That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t engage in financial goal setting. But it does mean that we should allow ourselves the grace to adapt.
Why the Word “Goal” Can Feel Heavy
If you’ve ever felt a sense of dread when asked to define your financial goals, you’re not alone. Research suggests that many people feel overwhelmed or even paralyzed when asked to state specific long-term objectives. It’s not always because we lack discipline. It’s often because we don’t yet have the clarity we think we’re supposed to.
When you’re facing a new beginning—after a loss, divorce, or a significant life transition—it can be hard to project far into the future. Sometimes, the most honest answer to “What are your financial goals?” is simply, “I don’t know yet.”
Financial Goal-Setting Truths
- Goals are Guesses. You don’t know exactly what you will be doing 16 years, one month, and one day from today. Why worry about precision? Just make your best guess.
- Goals are Flexible. Here’s an interesting concept. You can be completely committed to a goal while simultaneously being open to changing it. After all, it was just a guess.
- Goals are Personal. They are your goals, not somebody else’s. Don’t worry about what someone else has. Get rid of FOMO, or the fear of missing out. Plus, since they’re your goals, you have no reason to worry about being wrong.
- Achieving big goals requires taking many small steps. Big, scary goals can keep you from getting out of bed in the morning. Continually taking the next smallest step toward achieving that goal keeps you moving forward.
A More Compassionate Framework: Possibilities
Instead of setting rigid financial goals, what if we started with possibilities?
- “I’d like to have the freedom to travel more in the future.”
- “I want to support my children without sacrificing my peace of mind.”
- “I think I’d enjoy volunteering or even starting something new, but I’m not sure what that looks like yet.”
- “I’m interested in supporting a cause, but I’m not yet clear about how I want to do it.”
These are not lesser goals. They’re human ones. They reflect your values, dreams, and curiosity. When you reframe financial goal setting as an exploration of possibilities, you make room for flexibility and growth.
Goals Can Still Be Helpful—When They’re Flexible
Traditional financial goals still serve a purpose. They give you direction. They represent something you want to do or achieve. They help you measure progress. Research consistently shows that individuals who set goals tend to feel more confident about their financial situation. But the most powerful goals are the ones that are:
- Personal. Your goals should reflect what matters most to you, not someone else’s checklist.
- Flexible. It’s okay to pivot. Life will ask you to.
- Built on small steps. Every big goal starts with a tiny action. Think of them as breadcrumbs on the path—not a fixed destination.
For example, if you want to build an exercise habit or a health goal, you will likely find more success if you start small. You also want to make your goals SMART—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. (See either this blog or this blog for more about SMART financial and health goals.)
When Investing, Focus on Your Life—Not an Index
It’s easy to get distracted by headlines, market trends, and the temptation to “beat the index.” But that’s not the point of investing—not for most of us.
Your goal isn’t to outperform the market. It’s to live the life you desire.
Achieving the highest return often means taking on more risk. But if that added risk leads to larger losses—or causes you to abandon your strategy during a downturn—you may actually be moving further away from your goals, rather than closer. As a financial advisor, I would never want to call and tell clients that significant losses in their portfolio mean they can no longer achieve something meaningful to them.
Beating an Index?
Beating an index has nothing to do with meeting your personal financial goals.
Plus, outperforming the index doesn’t guarantee that you will meet any of your financial goals.
Why? What does beating that index have to do with meeting your personal financial goals?
The Benefits of Life Planning
Meeting your personal financial goals—or possibilities—has everything to do with intentional, personalized financial planning. And that planning is most effective when it starts with a deeper question: What kind of life do you want to live?
That’s where life planning comes in. It goes beyond financial spreadsheets and investment returns. It helps you uncover what truly matters to you, so your money can support the most fulfilling version of your life.
This is why successful financial goal setting starts with a vision for your life, not a benchmark to beat.
What Happens After the Financial Goal-Setting Process
It might feel uncomfortable to admit, but it’s true: A financial plan begins to age the moment you complete it. At least something in it will be wrong. We just don’t know exactly how—yet. After all, we don’t know what market returns will be. We don’t know how long you will live. Your guess about future inflation and tax rates might be better than mine—or worse. Your earnings trajectory represents another unknown. While you might plan to have two kids, you could have more—or fewer.
Our life planning approach helps you address this. With life planning, your plan should reflect those things that are most meaningful to you. That can motivate you to achieve the possibilities laid out in your plan. Your plan will reflect your values and what’s most important to you. In most cases, that increases the likelihood that you realize the dreams you lay out in your plan.
Let Your Goals Evolve With You
One of the greatest gifts of financial planning is that it’s not about getting everything right today—it’s about giving yourself options for the future. At Apprise, our approach to financial goal setting blends life planning with intentional action, so you have options, not ultimatums. You don’t have to have all the answers. In fact, we welcome the not-knowing, because that’s where the real planning begins. Together, we explore. We name what matters. And then we walk forward, one step at a time.
So… should we call them “goals” or “possibilities”?
Maybe both. But most importantly, we should call them yours.
📥 Would you like a copy of our new checklist? Download “From Goal to Possibility: A Reframing Checklist” here or send an email to philweiss@apprisewealth.com.
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