How Technology Has Helped Me Keep Closer Tabs On My Goals

December 29, 2017

Note from the editor: As we round out 2017, many people will be setting goals and intentions for the year ahead. To help with that, our blog team will be sharing their take on goals throughout the week — we all have a different opinion! We hope you enjoy hearing how each of us approaches the idea of goal-setting and New Year’s resolutions. From Michael:

You’ve probably heard the old expression about the cobbler’s children not having shoes. As a financial planner, I have to admit that looking at my own finances is sometimes a chore. After talking with people about financial issues all day long, the last thing I want to do at night is look at my own situation. I’d much rather turn on some music or podcast or a news channel or even clean a bathroom or read a good book. If keeping better tabs on your daily money is on your list of goals, perhaps my experience can help.

Tracking the day-to-day

What I have found lately is that it isn’t always a chore to keep an eye on my budget, which is great. Technology has allowed me to get a quick look at my financial life at a glance and it’s not all that intrusive. I use an online budgeting tool (there are lots of them to choose from now) to keep track of my spending, and to set monthly targets. When I reach or go over budget in a category, I get an email or a text message. This tool also has an app, so I can take a quick peek at my daily financial life as I’m waiting for coffee to brew (or popcorn to be ready in the microwave).

There’s an app for that

A recurring bill is due? I get a text message to let me know that the statement has been generated and a link to the website so I can schedule a payment. Need to check out if the stock market has gone up or down? A quick look at one of the apps on my phone can give me specific stock quotes, a look at the overall markets, big news items. Wondering what’s going on in the financial world? There’s an app for that too.

Information overload

Whether it’s the world at large or my own personal day-to-day financial management, it’s getting easier to keep track of your financial life without a big investment of time and effort. Is there a downside to this? Absolutely: information overload. At one point I got so many notifications on my phone each day that I stopped paying attention to them & eventually turned them off. I had to unsubscribe from all but a few of the most useful email lists. These apps only work if you work them into your daily routine.

The missing app

Here’s where my 2018 goal comes into play: I have only been able to find useful ways to manage my day to day; my long term financial picture is something I still visit only periodically. I know my long term goals, and use technology to manage the short term items in a way that is consistent with my long term goals, but I wish there was a way for me to check my progress at a glance for the big picture stuff without having to crunch all the numbers and look at several different accounts first.

If I can find a technologically simple way to view my long term financial goals, then I will consider my 2018 money goals a success — after all, I’m doing all the day to day stuff, so they should, in theory, lead to achievement of the long term. But having a way to check that regularly would help to ensure that outcome.

When used in the appropriate amount, technology can add a great deal of structure and clarity to your financial life and goal setting.

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8 Ways to Build and Protect Your Retirement Savings Today

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A Tale of Two “Potential” Vacations

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Are Your Brackets AND Your Budget Busted?

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How Not Eating a Marshmallow is Key to Financial Success

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