You Can Get There if You Plan Synchronicity

Keep your head out of the clouds and make a plan.

How do you pull your dreams out of the clouds and down to Bespin so you can reach them? Like any other place you want to go, your journey to reach your goals requires a map--or a plan. Maybe your goal is to have a new Sideshow Collectible action figure. Or a new car that doesn't break down once  a month. Or a Wayne Manor of your own with space for your growing family. Or you might be thinking of a longer-term goal--like a replica Batmobile from Fiberglass Freaks. Um. I mean a college education for your children or a comfortable retirement, for example. Or maybe all of the above. Well, to make any of these goals a reality, you need a plan. A financial plan.

When you develop a financial plan, you set specific goals and attach price tags to them. then, you start making trade-offs. For example, you might be dreaming of a new car, but decide instead to save the amount of the monthly car payment for your child's college education. Decisions like this are part of setting priorities--in other words, deciding which goals are more important to you. The outcome of this process? You make the most of your money.

At the beginning of the year I shared one of my goals for 2018, of putting together a new Cosplay costume every six months. In order to that, I've started to set aside $50 every payday. However, something had to be cut from the budget in order to save the funds necessary to achieve that goal. By nature, staying at home and cooking during the week is the norm for me. Typically, I would eat out all weekend long, whether it was fast food or a sit down dinner. Eating out also tends to be one of my biggest expenses every month. I love to cook. So, by just eating at a home another day or two a week, I am not only able to meet my costume savings goal, but saving extra money for something else important to me, like a honeymoon to Disneyland.

If you already have a financial plan, that's great! But now is the time to review your goals and set your priorities. Even the best plans may need to be adjusted now and then if personal or economic conditions change. When you've finished setting your goals for the year, you'll have made good progress on one of the most rewarding journey's you'll ever take.

Tell us what goals and plans you are making in 2018 in the comments below?

About the author: John Sholtz is an avid toy collector and the interim editor of the Batcave Toy Room due to the abrupt death of Bruce Wayne. Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter at, Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn.