Between last month’s polar vortex and this month’s ongoing snow storm, many parents are feeling the stress of having their children home from school day in and day out.  By now, kids are getting tired of playing in the snow because it’s no longer a novelty.  Mom, Dad and the babysitter have run out of ideas to keep kids busy other than watching mind numbing TV or playing borderline inappropriate video games.  It’s understandable.  After hearing screaming kids for four straight days, Grand Theft Auto doesn’t sound so bad.  
With kids missing so many days of school, when will they learn anything?  What will happen to their brains with so many breaks from school?

The French writer and poet Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger said, “A goal without a plan is a wish.” Aside from not knowing who that guy is, he had a point. Without a plan for achieving your goals, you will only accomplish them through pure luck if you accomplish them at all. This is an arbitrary strategy. With the tepid economy, high unemployment and increased costs for everything competing for your hard-earned dollars, not having a plan can guarantee financial failure and that sucks. 

Continuing with our rocks, pebbles and sand analogy from Monday, today we will discuss your pebbles or short-term financial goals and how they relate to your long-term goals. Just as Mariah Carey supports Nick Cannon, your short-term financial goals support your long-term financial goals.