What do you want to achieve from your life in 2016? January is the ideal time to think about your plans, not only for the year but also into the future. I’m not a huge fan of New Year’s resolutions about losing weight, quitting smoking or drinking less. According to one study*, only 8% succeed. (If you’re serious about changing your personal habits, you’ve probably already begun to make changes rather than waiting for an arbitrary date on the calendar.)

But evaluating and reviewing your financial planning is an investment of time that can really pay off. You can use the New Year to look back at what you’ve achieved, hopefully pat yourself on the back, and set yourself up to have a great year in 2016. With any luck, you’ll take steps that will get you closer to your big life goals.

Most of us invest in property because we want to secure our financial future. But that goal is too vague to help you make the best day-to-day decisions about your investments. You need to have a strategy that will make the most of every dollar you invest and take away the guesswork.

Goal-Setting

Each of us has our own unique goals and plans, depending on our stage in life, income, personal situation and dreams for the future. If you want to retire to Monaco with a Ferrari, you’ll need to own many more apartments than the person who wants to retire in Whangarei with a Toyota Corolla.

I’ve found setting goals has helped to grow the business and my own investments. Goals and plans have also helped the whole team at Impression to work in a more focused and productive way. We use key performance indicators displayed on a big television screen in our offices to show how the team is performing – because everyone knows what goals they’re working towards, the team is more united and motivated.

Last year we initiated a free service to all our clients providing complimentary sessions with registered financial advisers. Those meetings have been a fantastic catalyst for success, with clients able to define their dream retirement and put a dollar value on how much they want to have in the bank. From there, they can work back to create realistic milestones to enable them to reach their goals.

Getting Advice

January is the perfect time of year to sit on the beach with a glass of wine in one hand, your diary in the other and have those discussions about what you could achieve during the next 12 months. If you’re not sure where to get started, this could be the month you make an appointment to speak to a financial adviser.

When you have a plan in place, it’s much easier to make decisions – that’s been one of the most important lessons we’ve learned from our clients’ experiences with financial advisers. An investment plan can help you answer such questions as:

What should I buy next?

• Should I buy two cheaper apartments (or houses) or one more expensive property?
• Is it the right time to sell my investment properties?
• Should I renovate my apartment?
• Is this property still the right place to have my money or could I get closer to my financial goals with a different investment?

So take some time in January to start planning to have your best year – not only with your investments, but with all your goals and dreams.

*Diamond, D, Just 8% of People Achieve Their New Year’s Resolutions. Here’s How They Do It. Forbes.com, January 1, 2013.

Aaron Tunstall is the general manager of award-winning Impression Real Estate, which specialises in property management and sales and manages over 1,750 Auckland apartments.