Canadian Living 2019-10-01

CANADIAN LIVING OCTOBER 2019 | 59

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SMART GOALS: How They Work

1

SPECIFIC refers to

creating as much detail

as you can about your

goal. Instead of saying

“I want to save money,”

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“I want to save for

emergencies.”

2

MEASURABLE

relates to the number

attached to your goal

that will give you

peace of mind. “I want

to save $1,000 for

emergencies.”

3

ACHIEVABLE means

whether your goal is

realistic or not. Is your

goal attainable with the

resources you have?

“I want to save

$1,000 for

emergencies by

putting away $39

every paycheque.”

4

RELEVANT refers to

whether this goal aligns

with your life. Ask

yourself why this goal

is important to you?

If you have an answer

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is the goal worth

pursuing? “I want to

gain peace of mind

by saving $1,000

for emergencies by

putting away $39

every paycheque.”

5

TIMED, as the word

suggests, relates to the

period alloted to achieve

your goal. You can then

break down the tasks

into practical chunks.

“I want to gain peace

of mind by saving

$1,000 for

emergencies in

one year by putting

away $39 every

paycheque.”

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same goals—that would be too easy! Instead, work on ways to

understand each other better and keep the conversation going,

because as life changes, so do our goals. Check in regularly,

monitor your progress and celebrate the small wins!

SCOTT HANNAH IS PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE CREDIT COUN-

SELLING SOCIETY. FOR MORE INFO, VISIT MYMONEYCOACH.CA.

Find ways to meet each of your goals. Where your goals align,

create a realistic and manageable plan to make this happen using the

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surable, achievable, realistic and timed. Where your goals diverge,

talk to each other about what you want and why this is important.

You may convince your partner that your goal is the right one to focus

on or you may see that his or her goal makes more sense at this time

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make sure to circle back to this point once the goal has been achieved

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