Regardless of your earnings, you set financial goals at some point in your life, but you eventually find it extremely hard. Over 50% of people fail to have their plans come to fruition. Some people, in fact, struggle to realise their short-term financial goals.

Have you ever realised what holds you back from achieving your goals? There can be several reasons for it, and they may vary from person to person. For some people, debt can be the cause, while low income can account for it for others. This blog discusses causes that deter you from reaching your financial goals and managing to avoid it.

Reckless spending

One of the significant causes that stop you from achieving your financial goals is your spending behaviour. You could be spending more than you earn or you spend the whole of you earn.

Spending is essential somehow, for example, on food, utility expenses, travel, and the like, but it does not mean that you will spend whenever you want to throw your caution to the wind.

According to a statistical report, credit card transactions accounted for 38 million in 2019 with an average spend of €75 per transaction.

Solution:

You should create a household budget to ensure that you do not spend more than you earn.
Use budgeting apps to control spending.
Avoid using the credit card and use cash instead to shop.

Low income

The constant rise in the living cost and stagnant wages make it tough to tackle all expenses. If you have set goals like saving for car or house, you will feel like an eternity if you are on low wages.

You are to make a budget to avoid overspending and set aside some money for a rainy day. If it is impossible to make ends meet despite a lean budget, you must find other income sources.

Solution:

Ask your employer if they could pay a hike
Land a new job with high remuneration
Get a side gig

Not prioritising your finances

You may blame your income to have fallen behind, but sometimes this happens when you do not prioritise your finances. If you prioritise your savings and debt settlement, you will see a contribution toward your goals. If you are serious about achieving your financial goals, you will have to prioritise your finances.

Solution:

Prioritise that you will not dine out every weekend.
Link your saving account to pay account so every month it pulls some money to build savings.
Save on energy bills. Switch to suppliers that offer affordable deals.
Make a repayment plan to pay off debts faster.

Racking up debt

Just because you do not have enough money to buy you anything, you immediately borrow money. Online lending has made it easier to fund your needs that you often do not realise you are taking a toll on your financial condition.

For instance, if you borrow €100 from a lender to be paid in two weeks, you pay €100 along with interest. It can be around €150. Just think if you had no money to buy you a thing worth €100, how would be able to pay off €150.

This is why you end up rolling over a loan or borrowing more money to repay previous loans. This will lead to racking up debt, and you will not achieve your financial goals.

Solution:

Sit and categorise debts between high interest and lower interest.
Make a repayment plan that suits your financial condition.
Talk to your lender, tell them of your true financial condition and ask them to put you on another repayment plan.
Identify your needs and desires. Do not fund your desires. If you can put off buying something, go ahead.
Take out bad credit acceptance loans in Ireland only to improve your credit score.

Keeping up with the Joneses

If you have comparison syndrome, you will never be able to achieve your financial goals. Just because your friend has a luxurious car does not mean you will also buy it. You need to take stock of your financial condition before making a decision.

Solution:

Stop comparing yourself with others.
Try to evaluate your financial condition before making a purchase.
Motivate yourself that your life and goals are different from others.

The bottom line

Whether you have set small goals or long-term goals, you will have to keep track of your progress. Create a household budget, track your spending, pay off your debts, prioritise your finances, and stop comparing yourself with others. Although there can be many factors to have fallen behind your goals, there is only one way to come back to the track.

Description: Several factors forbear you from achieving your financial goals. This blog discusses them along with the solutions.