Did you start off the New year wondering where on earth the last 12 months went? How did your financial goal stack up… did everything go according to plan, or are you in much the same place that you were this time last year?

If you found that your grand plans for getting ahead just didn’t pan out, there are a few important mindshifts that could help make sure that this year is different.

Do the more valuable tasks.

If you look at every single task that you get done in a work week, what percentage of those can be done by you and only you? What percentage are repeating tasks that could be outsourced?

Now rethink those tasks that you think only you can do. What portions of those tasks can be done by you and only you? Are there any steps within this task that you could outsource?

If you had systems in place with incredibly clear step by step instructions, is it possible that someone else could get it done?

Why is this skill so important to develop? Because it frees up your time to spend on more high value high earning tasks that only you can do. There are only so many hours in your work week. Developing the skills to hand over low value tasks is a smart way to grow your income without having to put in more working hours.

And what’s the point of having a higher income? So that you can make your money work for you, instead of the other way around.

Get big picture, then go even bigger.

Let’s say you have it in mind that you want to buy a house. Fantastic. That’s fairly big picture, right?

Next think about what age would you like to retire at? What is your expected average lifespan? Subtract one from the other and you see how many years you will need to plan for. What yearly income would you be comfortable with? Times that by the number of years you are allowing for.

Example:

Retire at 60 years old

The life expectancy of an average Australian male is about 82 years old.

82-60= 22 years

22 years x $60k a year = $1.32 million dollars

This is an overly simplistic formula for giving you a rough estimate of how much savings you would need to retire. The real value is probably higher. What are your personal savings and Super sitting at now?

If you are 30 years old, and plan to retire at 60, you need to be generating ~$44,000+ in capital each year until you turn 60 to get there. How are your personal finances holding up in comparison?

Ban the hourly rate.

If the above scenario seems like a terrifying prospect (you aren’t alone in that), the third shift in mindset to work towards is building a passive income. What does this mean? It means that you have an asset that generates income without you. An investment property is one such example.

So say you work hard, manage to pay off the home you live in and an investment property by the time you retire. If that property generates $500 a week in rental income, that’s only $26,000 a year. A pretty hefty gap between the income you need and the one you are getting, you will still be dipping into your own capital to survive.

But what if you had been smart about your investment strategy in the long term, and acquired multiple investment properties, been able to pay them off quicker, and now had multiple passive income streams?