Comments on: Out With The Old, In With The New: Create a Five Year Sketch http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/12/02/out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new-create-a-five-year-sketch/ Financial talk for the rest of us Sat, 16 Feb 2013 01:14:45 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: ConsumerMiser http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/12/02/out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new-create-a-five-year-sketch/#comment-932113 ConsumerMiser Sat, 04 Dec 2010 02:51:54 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=6322#comment-932113 Love the tips about the 5 year sketch plan because if you can visualize it, you can make it happen. It starts with visualizing it first. Revisiting the sketch plan is key, because you want to hold yourself accountable to execute the plan.

I have a friend who set goals of doubling his income in 12 months and then keeps on saying it every year, but does not seem to hold himself accountable for not reaching his original goal. This has been going on for over 10 years.

]]> By: Andrea http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/12/02/out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new-create-a-five-year-sketch/#comment-932082 Andrea Fri, 03 Dec 2010 13:48:59 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=6322#comment-932082 I was considering creating a plan in January to kick off the New Year, but since I’ve read this post I’m going to start my 5 year sketch this weekend.

]]> By: Joan http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/12/02/out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new-create-a-five-year-sketch/#comment-932081 Joan Fri, 03 Dec 2010 13:36:08 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=6322#comment-932081 Here’s one question: My husband and I are trying to work together through this Out with the Old, In with the New series. Should we each do a file? Do we combine them? I’m not just talking in the record-keeping sense, but should these be personal goals or our goals as a family? Where does our 10-year-old daughter fit in? Etc. THANK YOU for any suggestions; I am loving this series already and hoping to make next year better!

]]> By: NMPatricia http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/12/02/out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new-create-a-five-year-sketch/#comment-932077 NMPatricia Fri, 03 Dec 2010 10:09:14 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=6322#comment-932077 I am sure that Trent would endose people adding whatever they might want in this five year plan. I would like to suggest that adding health in the plan would be a good idea. And I know that he addressed the financial part in #1 but I since we are OK financially, I added it here.

Still working on it, but a great exercise. I “retired” five years ago. So I am still trying to get my feet under me about this kind of life. This exercise is helping me.

]]> By: Gwen http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/12/02/out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new-create-a-five-year-sketch/#comment-932068 Gwen Fri, 03 Dec 2010 03:19:17 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=6322#comment-932068 I did this earlier in the year. I am turning 25 soon so I just made a list of goals that I wanted to accomplish before I turn 30. After I made the sketch, I used an Excel form in Google Docs to outline when I wanted to have accomplished my goals. I put the month and year in the left most column, and used the next few columns as different timetables for separate goals, which I color coded. (Over the top maybe, but the visualization really helps, and having it spread over a calendar format like that helped me set realistic benchmarks.)

]]> By: Briana @ GBR http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/12/02/out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new-create-a-five-year-sketch/#comment-932061 Briana @ GBR Fri, 03 Dec 2010 01:26:20 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=6322#comment-932061 I’ve created my 5 year plan in October but didn’t break down all the actions towards them yet, so you just inspired me to break it all down. I keep mine in Evernote since I use it everywhere anyways

]]> By: Hannah http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/12/02/out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new-create-a-five-year-sketch/#comment-932058 Hannah Thu, 02 Dec 2010 23:08:14 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=6322#comment-932058 I took your advice and jotted down some goals in a Google doc. I thought that writing my goals down would be daunting, because if I haven’t reached them in 5 years, there will be be written proof of it. But instead, I do feel empowered. I’ve definitely lost interest and become apathetic towards what I’ve been doing, but it’s good to remind myself I’m working this hard for a good reason.

]]> By: Valerie http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/12/02/out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new-create-a-five-year-sketch/#comment-932056 Valerie Thu, 02 Dec 2010 23:03:33 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=6322#comment-932056 @ eva — I agree with eva’s comments above about benchmarks. But this assignment is more about the vision than the plan. The vision allows to create the plan. When we have the vision and then create the plan (list of objectives) we can add measurable progress indicators or benchmarks. This let’s us measure our succeess. (kind of like the former assignment for balance sheets) Measures provide important information about progress and motivators to reach a little higher. Thanks Trent!

]]> By: eva http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/12/02/out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new-create-a-five-year-sketch/#comment-932043 eva Thu, 02 Dec 2010 20:07:44 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=6322#comment-932043 Five-year plans are absolutely key to successful businesses (and government and nonprofit agencies), and they really work well for personal life too.

I’d also recommend taking another tip from the business world and setting up benchmarks. With your goals and strategies, outline WHEN you expect to be making the progress you hope for. That way, at any given point, you can say “am I doing this the way I wanted to?” and know if you’re being successful.

Then again, some people might consider that over the top;)

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