Ready, Fire, Aim!

You’ve probably heard the expression, “Ready, fire, aim!” before. It makes us laugh a little, because of course we know that’s wrong.

Sadly, the reality is that it’s often “Ready, fire!” — which is at least better than never getting to “fire!” at all.

Of course we all know that “Ready, aim, fire!” gets the best results, but the other scenarios are much more common. So how do you make sure you’re on the right track?

First, set a reasonable goal for yourself. Get an idea of where you would like to go, and then see what would be the reasonable steps toward getting there. Maybe you want to save up a down payment for a house.

In that case, start by doing a little research. Learn what is reasonable for your income, learn what the mortgage options are, and figure out how much of a down payment you might need. This is the “ready” phase.

Next, aim toward where you want to be. Decide when you’d like to have the down payment by, and figure up how much you’ll need to set aside (either from your current income or possibly from an extra job) in order to get there by your deadline. See what’s reasonable and sustainable over the period you have in mind.

Then “fire” by implementing your plan.

When you put in the appropriate amount of preparation time, you’re much more likely to discover potential obstacles ahead of time, take them into account, and follow through to completion.