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Utilizing The S. M. A. R. T Model Essay

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Utilizing the S.M.A.R.T model to plan your financial future ensures your goals are within reach and in-line with the future you are looking forward to, the acronym stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely (Siegal & Yacht, 2009). In this paper, we are going to use Alice as our example to on how to evaluate goals with the S.M.A.R.T method. Alice is freshly out of college and there are a few things she wants to accomplish in her future, so first thing is we need to establish what they are before we can decide how best to create goals. She wants to pay off her student loan, buy a house and save for children’s education, accumulate assets, retire, and travel around the world in a sailboat (Siegal & Yacht, 2009).
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Furthermore, she may gain a second income, from a spouse, help her save for their child’s college tuition and pay a mortgage. The remainder of her goals should be considered long-term, they are goals that are worked toward during an entire career (Siegal & Yacht, 2009). She will accumulate assets by buying a house, and starting a retirement fund. We do not know exactly when Alice wants to retire, but let’s speculate during her early 60’s. If she starts putting away a small percentage of her income, and increasing it when she can, she can retire with assets. Furthermore, she can buy a sailboat and travel the world multiple times.
There are numerous circumstances that can change between when you choose your original goals and when you complete your long-term ones, therefore, your goals need to be reevaluated periodically. 5 years later, how will Alice know how much more she can save to retirement? By evaluating her current financial standing. This leads us to another component of evaluating S.M.A.R.T. goals; assessing the current situation, and making sure they are attainable and realistic.
To understand your current financial standing you need to figure out if your expenses are higher or lower than your income. This is done by creating financial statements, the same three used in business accounting: income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow

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