It has taken me years to decide exactly what my personal goals really were. Recent life changes have caused me to alter these goals or at least to postpone them. My personal goals are to become financially secure enough to travel after I retire, to spend quality time with my family and to not have to worry about going back to work after retiring due to a lack of planning. How did I arrive at these goals? As a single parent, I have spent the majority of my time working to provide for my family. I would truly appreciate the quality time I will be able to spend with my children now that they are adults, and we are all less stressed with the worries of my providing a living. I have also witnessed friends and acquaintances not properly planning for retirement and having to go back to work out of a need to return, rather than a desire to return.
What has caused me to alter or adjust my goals? Changes in my life have created circumstances where adjustments have become necessary. Some adjustments have been major, and some have been due to just minor changes in life that made alteration in plans necessary. Six months ago, I lost my job. This dictated a major adjustment in my life. My goals changed because the lack of a steady income required me to work longer to prepare for retirement. I had hoped to achieve my goals by periodic personal saving and employment savings through the retirement and 401K plans on current and previous vested employment. The loss of my job changed these plans drastically.
My current personal goal is to obtain a B.S. degree in Information Technology from the University of Phoenix. To further my education has always been a desired goal, but has been put on hold, due to the need to provide for my family and myself. The opportunity to take advantage of this major change in my life has been determined by numerous factors; the loss of my job and the fact that now my children are grown up and self-sufficient.