How are you setting your life goals? Are you following a well-trodden path or choosing aspirations that are meaningful to you?
Everyone is different and spending some time thinking about what you want to achieve could lead to greater wellbeing and a sense of purpose.
Imagine you’re preparing for retirement. The traditional outlook would suggest you make time to relax, help look after your grandchildren, and maybe book a cruise. That might sound great at first, but when you examine what you want, perhaps you discover travelling the UK in a campervan, penning a novel, or joining a band sounds more attractive.
Similarly, you might have gone to university and are now working your way up the career ladder because it’s the expected route. Yet, there could be opportunities to retrain, take a career break, or launch a business that you could miss out on if you’re not open to different possibilities.
Of course, common goals are popular for a reason, and many might be important to you. But simply ticking off expected milestones could lead to regrets and missed opportunities.
According to a survey carried out by Samsung (10 September 2025), the average Brit spends 5.8 days a year thinking about what they would do differently if they could live their life again.
Pursuing meaningful life goals doesn’t guarantee you won’t have regrets. However, it could help you spend your time, energy, and money on what’s most important to you.
Setting meaningful life goals as part of your financial plan
A financial plan is a long-term roadmap that sets out how you might use your assets to achieve life goals. So, if you want to re-evaluate your aspirations, it’s a good place to start.
Here’s why.
1. Set goals that are focused on personal aspirations
A financial plan doesn’t start by looking at numbers, but by considering what your goals are. As a result, it provides dedicated time to discuss what’s important to you.
You might want to think about what gives your life purpose now and what you’d like to achieve in the future. This allows you to create a plan that balances short- and long-term goals that are tailored to you rather than simply following the crowd.
2. Turn vague goals into clear objectives
When you first set a goal, it’s often vague. You might say “I want to travel more”. This is a good starting point, but you need more details to create an actionable plan. In this scenario, you might benefit from considering questions such as:
- Is this something I want to achieve while working or when I retire?
- Would I prefer multiple short trips or a longer adventure?
- What kind of travel experiences do I want to have?
- Which destinations are most interesting to me?
After pondering these questions, your objective might be more defined, such as “I want to take a year-long career break in 2030 to spend time exploring South America”. You now have a clear objective that you’re working towards, so it’s easier to measure your progress and think about what steps you need to take to turn it into a reality.
3. A financial plan could give you the confidence to pursue goals
Following your dreams can be scary, especially if you’re worried about how it could affect your financial security.
As your financial planners, we can work with you to create a cashflow model that will allow you to assess the impact of different scenarios. For example, if you dream about starting a business, you might want to model whether other income sources could cover essential outgoings or the long-term implications of using a lump sum as start-up capital.
A cashflow model is a tool that uses information about your current assets and assumptions about external factors, such as expected investment returns, to project how your wealth might change in different scenarios.
It’s important to note that the outcomes of a cashflow model cannot be guaranteed. However, as a tool, it could give you confidence in your finances, allowing you to pursue goals and explore possibilities you might have previously dismissed.
4. A financial plan could be useful when goals change
While you might set a meaningful goal now, it’s not set in stone. Over time, the life you want to live could change. A financial plan could improve your security, so you have more flexibility if you want to adjust your short- or long-term objectives.
Contact us
To talk to us about how to build a financial plan around the life you want, please get in touch.
Please note: This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at individuals only.
All information is correct at the time of writing and is subject to change in the future.
The value of your investments (and any income from them) can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.
Investments should be considered over the longer term and should fit in with your overall attitude to risk and financial circumstances.
The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate cashflow modelling.