At a recent chamber meeting, all of us were doing an exercise where we were asked to write down an intention we’d like to manifest in our lives. Not surprisingly a lot of people wrote down wanting to be debt-free. It’s an excellent goal and intention to have, but it’s also a bit short sighted, because it doesn’t really focus on what’s going to happen after you’ve become debt-free.

I find with financial goals that its really important to have both short and long term goals. Being debt-free is a short term goal, but a long term financial goal focuses you on thinking about what you’ll do with the money you get after you no longer have debt.

For example, one of my long term financial goals involves regular investments into my IRA accounts, as well as other accounts that can help me grow my money. I know that if I ever retire I’ll need to be able to draw on that money. And the recognition of that helps me focus on the long term goal of achieving financial independence. Debt free frees me of debt, but it doesn’t make me financially independent. That only occurs if I have a plan in place after I’ve reached that debt free space I want to be in.

What are your short and long term financial goals? It’s important to define them for your life and business. It’ll help you make the right choices to grow your business and sustain the life you want to live.