Personal finance was one of my favorite classes I took at Virginia Tech, but not because I enjoyed finance. I thought finance was boring, confusing, and something that involved a bunch of numbers and data that I couldn’t care less about. I fully understood that I needed to figure out how to make myself at least tolerate finances because at the end of the day, they were one of the few things that would be involved in my everyday life. Luckily, I had a wonderful professor for the class I so dreaded, and he helped me remember some key aspects of finance that I still use each and every day.
As January begins, so have the endless lists, TikToks, and other social media posts about everyone’s resolutions. I learned a long time ago that if I made a resolution at New Year’s, I wouldn’t stick with it. I don’t like following a crowd, and I certainly never stuck to anything because of everyone else. However, January is the month when I typically try to sit down and come up with my one-, five-, and 10-year plans.
All of us have goals and dreams as farmers. We all want something resembling stability, good crop yields, high milk production, great milk prices, updated facilities, ways to make life easier, and a future in this business. It’s hard being in the agricultural world, and without goals and dreams, we tend to get lost in everyday life.
My personal finance professor taught us to develop SMART goals, with SMART being an acronym for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based. This was one of many lessons that I took from the class and use in everyday life. Having these types of goals helps us create a timeline for when we want to accomplish something new. Personally, I try to establish goals at those one-, five-, and 10-year benchmarks. This way, I can keep striving toward my goals and not get too caught up in one over another.
The one-year goal is a more realistic goal that can be accomplished sooner than the others. The five-year goal is one that’ll take some planning and preparation and may very well have to be done year by year to achieve. The 10-year goal wraps everything up in a neat little package and shows how the one-year and five-year goals came together to accomplish the ultimate target. Having these goals in life, especially on the farm, allows me to feel like I’m making a difference and striving for something every day.
I am not a financial guru, nor am I a life coach. I am still relatively young and naive in this crazy life. But I wanted to share my personal outlook to help others try something new if they find themselves “stuck in a rut.” Life is crazy, demanding, and, overall, insane. Having goals helps us break the monotony and strive for a different, better tomorrow. Stay safe y’all.
The author is a sixth-generation farmer and fifth-generation dairy producer in southwest Virginia, where she and her family own and operate a 145-head Holstein dairy. Courtney is involved in agriculture organizations throughout her community and is a graduate of Virginia Tech.
