Set measurable goals to achieve financial desires

Immediate financial obligations such as mortgage payments, rent, the cost of utilities, car payments and groceries make it difficult to plan for the future; however, small investments now - no matter what stage you are in life - will pay off more in the long run than investing larger sums of money later.

Paul Katsion, a financial services professional in Mt. Pleasant with New York Life, said separating goals from desires will help investing become achievable.

'If I really set my sights on the desire, I'm setting myself up for disappointment because there's so many aspects of that outside of my control,” Katsion said. Katsion said people in their mid- to late-20s would be surprised at how much money they could save by giving up two lattes a month.

The time value of money - or how much interest it can earn - is more powerful than dumping larger amounts of money into a savings account later, Katsion said.

Regardless, it's up to the individual how aggressively they want to go after their goal.

When clients ask Katsion if committing to saving X-number of dollars a month is enough, he says it's not for him to decide.

'It's your investor profile,” Katsion said. 'That's something any good financial services professional will learn about you as you work through that process - what kind of investor you are.”

Katsion said if someone desires losing 25 pounds in 2019, they can turn that into a goal by saying they will not go back for seconds at every meal. While they may not meet their desire of losing 25 pounds, they can still achieve their goal.

Katsion, whose income fluxuates on a monthly basis, said he might not be able to control how many clients he has monthly, but he can control how many phone calls he makes in a day.

'That's how I move things from the area of a desire to a goal. The main thing is what it is I control,” Katsion said.

Katsion said none of this is original advice. It is what most financial service professionals would recommend to their clients.

Katsion's advice is also intended as general counsel, and he suggests consulting with a financial professional who can learn about what kind of an investor their client is and how they can help move those desires to goals.

A client's first meeting with a financial professional should be a fact finder meeting for both parties, Katsion said.

'You should come away from that meeting having learned something about investing you didn't know before,” Katsion said. 'More importantly, you should have some piece of information useful to you as you make your own decision moving forward.”