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Part 2: Declare Your Money-Saving Goal

Now that you are 100% sure in your decision to effectively save more money, the next step is to decide on a specific goal you want to achieve.

The purpose of establishing a money saving goal is that it allows you to strive for a tangible reward you have wanted for some time, but maybe never had the money to purchase.

A money-saving goal will keep you focused on the task at hand and help guarantee your success. If you find yourself wavering from your agenda, keeping your end reward in mind will get you back on track, urging you to continue on.

Which GOAL Is Right For You? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The goal you select does not need to be above a certain price, or take you twenty years to acquire. However, it should be something that you REALLY want. For instance, if you have always wanted to vacation in Hawaii, but never had the "spare" money to accommodate this excursion, then this may be a goal to set for yourself.

If you have your mind set on a new entertainment center for your living room such as a 60" flat panel, wall mountable, digitally enhanced television, complete with a superior, top-of-the-line audio system, then this may be the money saving goal for you.

In addition to these types of goals, you may want to bypass the "short-term" rewards and strive towards a long-term goal such as securing retirement, a vacation home, or building a six-digit savings account. Again, this decision is entirely up to you, however keep in mind that it may be a good idea to first start off with a short-term goal in order to get rewarded from your efforts in a relatively short amount of time. Then afterwards, once you are more accustomed to this money-saving process, you can move on to a long-term, more elaborate goal.

As soon as you decide on a specific goal to strive towards, put a picture of it up on the wall in your room or in a highly visible area so you will be constantly reminded of your reason for saving money. The visual stimulation alone will help keep you inspired to succeed and hopefully prevent you from giving up on this important endeavor.

In addition to posting a picture of your goal, get creative and make a chart or graph to track your progress. Designing some type of tracking system will not only keep you motivated, but provide you with the exact amount you have already saved, and how much is still needed. You may also find that tracking your progress will allow you to see what techniques are paying off, and let you compare savings totals month to month which should hopefully be increasing as you go along.

NEXT Part 3 in this 8 Part Money Saving Series: Analyze Your Expenses

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