Expanding Your Financial Horizons

April 2nd, 2009 | Financial Security, Goal, Long Term, Money, Personal Finance, Wealth

Do you like to dream big or do you prefer to keep your financial dreams in check? The way that you answer this question may have a big impact on your future. If you’re consistently dreaming small, you may be shooting yourself in the foot before you ever take that first step on the road to financial independence. Sometimes, dreaming big is an absolute necessity and more often than not, those that do dare to dream of big financial rewards are the ones that are able to achieve those dreams.

If you limit yourself to small financial dreams, you may be automatically removing the potential to secure your financial future. This doesn’t mean entertaining pie-in-the-sky fantasies however, but it does mean that you should start thinking about expanding your financial horizons, even just a little bit, to help you achieve and exceed your financial goals.

In order to expand these horizons, it is helpful to come up with actual goals that you want to meet, and then find ways to build on those goals. For example, let’s say that in the next five years, you would like to be able to save up a 10% down payment on a $300k house. This means putting away approximately $6000 a year, which is easy enough to achieve. But, what if you were able to add an extra $100 to that savings every month. In five years, instead of having just $30k, you would now have $36k.

That’s money that could be used to pay off your closing costs, get some new furniture or even free up more equity. This is just one small example of how expanding your horizons a little can pay off, especially over the long term. If you start with small little changes like this, before long, expanding further will be easier than ever.

Using this example again, up the ante to $200 extra a month. Now, at the end of that five years you’d have $42k, a full $12k more than your original goal. Once again, small changes become bigger changes that in turn lead to greater expansion. After you have this formula down, you can begin trying it in new ways and in new fields.

For example, instead of focusing on just buying a house for yourself, consider getting a rental property as well. This is an investment that can pay off well, and you’ll always have the option of selling the property, especially if the real estate market in your area goes through an improvement. In many cases, this is how millionaires are made. They are willing to expand their financial horizons, leverage a bit of debt, and in turn, they enjoy a bigger payout at the end.

When you are able to expand your financial horizons and start thinking and dreaming bigger, the sky can become your limit in no time at all. Dare to dream big and then take the steps necessary to achieve those dreams. Even if you fall a little bit short, you’ll still be ahead.

Photo Credit: 1

Originally posted 2008-12-01 05:12:47. Republished by Old Post Promoter

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