What’s on Your Bucket List?

Do you have a bucket list? That is, a list of experiences or achievements you want to accomplish in your lifetime? Whether it’s writing a book or visiting your ancestral home, these lists are meant to declare your aspirations.

Sometimes, however, bucket lists are abandoned because of the time commitment involved. Often they aren’t completed because the expense just isn’t in the financial plan.

So what if instead of abandoning our lists due to cost barriers, we put a financial strategy in place to get our lists done?

Using the table on the image above…

1. Pick an item on your list and write it on top.
2. Research and estimate how much it will cost. This can inspire you–doing the research can be a motivation to achieving a goal.
3. Think about how much you want to save in advance. Do you want to pay entirely with cash or are you okay to finance a portion?
4. Write down when (in months) you want to check the item off.
5. Divide the amount you need to save by the total months to find out how much money you will need to contribute each month.

If your bucket list includes experiences that have no cost, then you can engage whenever you are able to find the time. For costlier items, creating a plan means you can start checking things off sooner rather than later.