Seeing is believing, right? In many instances, the answer is a resounding “yes.” In fact, “seeing” your financial goals via strong and captivating imagery is a good start on the road to believing you can solve your money woes and reach your financial goals, whatever they might be. This is where a financial vision board – a tool which allows you to sustain your motivation by channeling your creativity – makes great sense.
Your vision board can be constructed any way you like, using materials that most strike your fancy or best serve your purpose. What’s important is the vision board be displayed in a prominent spot in your home which affords easy daily viewing. Also, the images, which should be bold, pleasing to the eye and specific, must work to capture your attention and refocus your efforts toward reaching your money goals whenever you see it.
Why does it work? I have a few theories, but research around setting goals and the best way to achieve them suggests people are far more likely to reach those goals when they write them down rather than just keeping their dreams pent up in their heads. Imagine then how much more likely you are to be successful when you not only put your goals down on paper but illustrate them in a beautiful, image-driven way that you see each and every day. That’s the beauty of a financial vision board.
If you’re sold on the idea, here are a few steps to follow to ensure your board is the best one for your needs.
1. Set specific, manageable and reachable goals. That’s right, before you start collecting all your inspiring imagery, it’s important you are crystal clear about what you want to achieve. You might want to finally put together – and follow – a budget. Maybe you’re interested in eliminating debt and are aiming to pay off a set amount over each month. Perhaps a summer vacation is on your mind. Then again, maybe it’s all of these things or a completely different set of goals. Whatever you may want to accomplish, you need to first identify it.
2. Gather your materials. Here’s the fun part. A good vision board can be created on poster board or any other large paper-style product you can decorate and hang. The imagery should represent your financial goals as you’ve laid them out. Gather up pictures from magazines, print out relevant art from the Internet or even inspirational and motivational sayings wherever you find them. You can even make your own images using paint, markers, stencils or any other necessary craft supply. Here’s where it pays to get creative and create a board that is beautiful yet effectively represents where you want to land when it comes to money management.
3. Pick your sweet spot. Decide where you’ll display your board, ideally a spot you see often throughout your day. This could be above your desk where you sit to organize and pay bills. It could be hung in front of home exercise equipment so you can focus on your board and goals while you exercise. The vision board could find a spot on the refrigerator or taped to your closet doors. You might also consider making a miniature version of the board to grace the cover of your daily planner or financial binder. That way your vision board can move with you, constantly reminding you of your stated aims.
4. Expand. This tip isn’t specifically related to the creation of your vision board; instead it’s meant to serve as a more detailed complement to it. For each goal visually represented on your board, take time to expand on each one, detailing how you plan to achieve each goal, why it’s important to do so and a deadline for when you hope to see it happen. These details can be collected together on a piece of paper you can tack onto your vision board, keep tucked into your planner or stored in a desk drawer or your nightstand.
5. Give it time. Patience is a virtue and you’ll need to be virtuous when it comes to your vision board. The point of seeing the board several times a day is to force your brain to envision all the money-management and financial successes you want for yourself. Seeing the board day in and day out will help you keep laser focused on your stated path.
6. Change it up if you need to. If you find certain imagery or inspirational quotes just aren’t working for you, feel free to do some tweaking. Or better yet, once you reached certain goals outlined on your vision board, take that opportunity to celebrate visually with congratulatory pictures or even a new image to represent new goals.
Remember, a financial vision board is a fun and creative way to keep you motivated as you travel the sometimes bumpy road to financial health. The board is unique to you so there’s no pressure to make it perfect, and there’s certainly no shame in changing what isn’t working for you.
And if you need help making your financial vision a reality, you can always reach out to the team at DebtGuru.com.