Investing Goals

[Account Closed]

Hello everyone! I've been listening to the Bigger Pockets podcast for some time now but I never bothered to sign up for the site until today so now I'm here! I do have a question because one id the podcasts they mentioned an idea that I thought was great when planning to invest in your first home. They guys said that before you make any moves, first determine how much you would like to make that year from real estate and then work your way backwards from there to reach that predetermined goal. So my question is what's a reasonable goal for a first time investor? I want to set something that's actaully reachable so that I can remain encouraged and maintain momentum from that point forward. Thank you all in advance for the help! God bless. 

[Jeremiah B.]

To quote Stephen Covey:  Begin with the end in mind.

I want to highlight three core components of goal setting:

• Start with your long-term goals.  Specifically, ask yourself what you want your financial life to look like at the day that you retire.  Every single short term goal that you create, should support your long-term goals.
• Goal setting is an iterative process, so don't worry about being 100% accurate with the above point.  Instead, set a long-term goal, and then start working towards it.  If it become apparent that your short term progress is not leading you on a path to your long-term goals, then one viable solution is changing your long-term goals.  Having a long-term goal is more important than having an accurate long-term goal.
• Your skills, resources, time, current situation, etc. will all factor into your goals, but don't include these on the first iteration.  The best first two questions are: "what do I want to look like when I retire," and then "what do I need to do this year to get there?"  Only then should you ask the question of 'how.'

Remember that long-term goal will (or should) drive your short term (annual, monthly, daily) goals.

Happy Hunting!