The answer to the questions:
"Why can't anyone tell me what my long term financial goal should be?"
This is a very personal question and there are probably not anyone that really has the same long term financial goal except on a very high level.
That is sort of like "My long term goal is to live in Texas when I retire".
Look at this map of Texas, it is huge. There are all sorts of terrain from huge sprawling city areas with lots of people and pollution with every convenience imageable to remote rural areas which do not even have water or electricity with the nearest grocery store over an hour's drive a way.
Long Term Financial Goals Are Personal
To reach "A" destination on the map would be very easy to do. Get in your car, pick a road and drive. You can take the biggest road with multilanes to the smallest dirt trail both of these choices would get you to "A" destination.
But would it be your destination?
Long term goals with any level of detail are very personal and the only one that can create it is you. A lot of times we let others set our long term goal for us.
You must have a million dollars to live comfortable in retirement
So what do some people do, they start trying to save a million dollars so they can live comfortably in retirement. Not really thinking about is this what they really want to reach long term which is so many, many years away.
Each person is unique and should have a unique long term goal or vision. So why do so many advisors try to force everyone to do the same thing because it worked for someone else.
Understand which general direction you want to take
Let's start by understanding the importance of knowing what your long term goal is and using an example that everyone understands and has some experience with.
"Traveling from One Location to Another"
In this example, I have a copy of the state of Texas. Wow, look how many roads there are on the above map which can take you to so many different places but a lot of them do take you to the same location just by a different route.
Most take the most direct route biggest most traveled roads to "A" destination. But most of the time that destination is not the destination they are looking for.
This question is not easy for anyone to answer for you and there is not just one way to reach your chosen destination.
First You Must Choose a Destination
Some hire financial consultants that share the basic principal steps to save money or reduce your spending but they really can not help you until you have made the first decision.
"What is my long term goal?" It would be like asking for directions but the financial consultant provides you steps to reach where they think you want to be instead of where you would really like to end up.
It is sort of like getting directions to a sandwich shop when you had your heart set on a nice steak dinner which both of these would feed you but are located in two totally different locations.
Guessing Without Knowledge
Guessing without knowledge can make your journey far longer than you would like it to be. So many people start off without knowing where there long term goal is located. They are in such a rush to get where they are going that they just want to get started.
I live in the middle of Texas which is the map shown at top of this article. If I want to go to the Gulf Coast of Texas and start my trip off by heading North West. I will never get to where I am going because I am going in the absolute wrong direction.
Guessing which direction something my be located will not get you close to getting to it unless you have some kind of knowledge regarding where that location might be located.
Do some research about the destination that you would like to reach. You may find by diving into it and getting a better understanding of your destination that you might not want to go there after all.
If you Can't Decide, Get Started Anyway
Some of us, might not want to make a commitment to strive for something for years and years. This does not mean you should just sit on your tail until something inspires you to move.
If you can't decide on a long term goal, pick a short term one. But the best thing to do is get started anyway. You may learn something on this short trip that will inspire you to pick an even longer term destination.
You will change directions
I have not heard of anyone that has created a long term goal and then 10 or 20 years down the way changed their mind and started off in a different direction. Or created it and did not start out in that direction to begin with.
Don't worry you will change you mind along the way. Sometimes it is not about the destination but is:
"All about the Journey You Take Along the Way" so Enjoy the Journey.
Great post! I like how you delivered the message!
Like you said, even if we don't know the exact destination, we still know the direction... Catch a bus, maybe it's not the fastest transport that goes on the shortest road, but it goes in the right direction!
And enjoy the ride!!
!DHEDGE
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