Test Chapter One: Setting Your Financial Goals and Creating a Budget (copy)

Setting goals is a foundation for building greater self-determination. When we set goals for those things in our lives that are most important to us - family, community, and friends - they provide direction for how to use our energy and resources, including our money. And because goals are often based on values, we’ll use a tool today to help us reflect on those things that are most important to us. The things we work on today (in this class) can help us discuss the importance of goal setting with our families or members of our community and provide tools to help demonstrate the value and process of setting goals. 

The information we’ll cover also provides tools to help you discuss and think about planning for life events. Life events are circumstances that many people experience over the course of our lifetime. Some examples are finding our first job, graduating from high school and possibly entering a job training program or college, buying a home, getting married, having children, dealing with the death of a family member, and retiring from work. We are not telling you what should be considered important parts of life, these are examples. We all bring our own experiences and set of values to our finances. 

Setting Financial Goals and Creating a Budget Workbook

Our values are the people, things, and places that are important to us and guide how we make decisions. Our values shape how we prioritize our time and energy, and our money. They provide a foundation for our goals. They are individual beliefs that motivate people to act one way or another. They serve as a guide for human behavior. Generally, people are predisposed to adopt the values that we are are raised with. We also tend to believe that those values are “right” because they are the values of our particular culture. Decision-making often involves weighing values against each other and choosing which values to elevate. Conflicts can arise when we have two or more values that clash with each other and are unsure of how to prioritize them. So, before we write down goals, reflect on traditional or community values, as well as your own personal values. What values are most important to you? Doing so can help us focus on using our resources in ways that uphold those values.