Goal Setting for Teens

The link between our reality today and our goals for tomorrow is motivation. Motivating ourselves to do what needs to be done and to stick to a realistic timeframe for completion of these goals is the main ingredient in a successful venture. Often we have wants, desires, and dreams but lack the motivation to get down to the nitty gritty in order to turn our desires into tomorrow’s reality. There are no shortcuts, just determined effort and basic hard work.
Setting goals can increase our level of motivation. Goals can help us create our own personal milestones that help us grab the daily bread, so to speak, and get our hands dirty with effort. When we set a goal, or a series of goals, we should be mindful to make them realistically doable, keep them on task and targeted, and use their completion as a yardstick in which to measure our progress and success.
Setting goals that are unreachable can be highly counter productive. After all, if we can’t enjoy the process of checking something off of our list or closing the page on a chapter we’ve completed, we just run ourselves into the ground with repeated effort and no enjoyment. Eventually, the inability to reach even one milestone creates dissention, and the average individual gives up and moves on.
Perhaps you are on the other side of the tracks and you like to set goals that are so reachable that your day is done in ten minutes. It feels good to check off our daily tasks and wind up with free time. Of course, we can make our goals so attainable that we are no longer moving forward with any real momentum. Often, we know this and are feeling the void of a true accomplishment when we set goals that are too easily reached.
Striking a balance between the two, finding which time frames motivate you the best might take a little trial and error. If you need ten little goals in order to reach the first big goal just so you can check them off your list, so be it. Just be aware that the first ten are micro goals and that your day is not complete until you reach the end game.
Using goals to motivate your successful trading days is done in the same manner that you reach other goals in life. First and foremost, write them down. If you have to, write them down every morning and check things off as you accomplish the tasks that reach the goals. Creating realistic and reachable daily goals is the ladder you build toward your monthly goal. When trading, you want to make sure you aren’t trying to live out a fantasy, such as turning chump change into the “big win.”
It is a proven fact that adults, teens, and children alike learn new skills better when the pressure applied to the task is moderated. For you, learning to trade and learning skills that will turn you into the top notch day trader you are looking to become, moderate pressure doesn’t mean trying to live up to the expectations of big wins and dream trades. Small trades learned over time will allow you to evaluate your progress without the threat of financial ruin. No one can perform well all the time under that sort of pressure.
Keep a realistic view of day trading, and don’t expect to be rolling in big trades with huge profits in just a few months, no matter what any introductory course may try to sell you on. Long term seasoned and well planned trades lead to financial success. Short term boost trades lead to a little extra spending cash on occasion, but not an overall freedom of financial wealth. By maintaining your education goals, your trading goals, and your ability to trade in moderation while you learn the ropes, you can eventually succeed into the land of financial freedom. Of course, this takes time, practice, and an honest assessment of your trading skill set.

Finances and budgeting are almost never taught in today’s educational system. Although our kids learn advanced algebra and the history of economics, they rarely get the practice they need learn how to make a budget, stick to it, and start saving money as soon as they land their first job. Add to this the practice of credit card companies in targeting 18 year-olds and other college-bound youth, and the result is a potentially dangerous combination of irresponsibility and mounting debt.

This means that it is the job of parents – and the finance industry – to make teens responsible about money. And while it might seem complex to teach fiscal responsibility to a generation known for acting first and thinking later, responsible money management is one of the most important lessons you will ever teach your kids.

What to Teach Your Teens about Money

The most important thing teenagers – and adults – need to learn about money is that it is important to set goals. Telling your teen that he or she needs to take 10 percent out of every babysitting paycheck and put it in a savings account only teaches them that they need to listen to Mom or Dad. Urging them to save $1000 to invest in mutual funds along with your own investments allows them to visualize a goal and calculate what sort of returns they can expect later on down the road.

Seeing those numbers written down on paper can go a long way in solidifying a teen’s comprehension of finances. After all, safely invested money looks much like free money after awhile, and when your teen combines this type of goal with the goal of a large purchase he or she wants to make – say, a down payment on a car – he or she will have double the incentive to save.

Learning to Budget Early

Most teens should also learn the value of budgeting. In today’s society, the general urge for teens is to buy first, and ask questions later – and Mom and Dad will take care of the rest. Whether a purchase is made on a credit card or at the expense of this month’s gas money, many teens are later “bailed out” by parents who don’t want to see their kids racking up bad credit scores.

While protecting your child from a lifetime of bad credit is admirable, you’re often better off letting them learn from their mistakes. Have your teenager make a budget and stick to it. If he or she goes over, resist the urge to provide the funds they need to get by and force your teen to skip out on movies or new clothes until the budget is balanced. After all, learning about not overspending now – before your kids live on their own and the real danger of debt becomes a threat – can actually help teens in the long run.

No matter what happens, make sure you discuss finances with your teen openly and honestly. Allow teens to make mistakes, but require them to evaluate and learn from those mistakes. After all, fiscal responsibility is something than even many adult struggle with, and you’ll help your kids the most by starting financial planning early.