After you have determined what your financial goals are and calculated how much time and money will be needed to reach them, the next step is to make your efforts part of your regular lifestyle.
This is basically a matter of discipline and training yourself to continue laying aside or investing money on a regular basis.
This is where many people have a problem.
Knowing what you want and how to get it means nothing if you are unwilling to stick to the plan.
Most plans developed to meet long-term goals require you to save or invest a set amount of money each month.
If you have broken down your long-term financial goals into smaller, shorter term milestones, you should know exactly how much you should have saved or invested each year and, therefore, how much to dedicate each month to the plan.
This amount should be reasonable: not so much as to leave you wanting, but not so little as to make no real advancement.
Beyond laying aside money, you should probably be investing it to get a more favorable return over the long run.
Generally speaking, investing in the financial markets pays off if you have a well balanced portfolio.
The good thing about long-term goals is that if you invest for them, you have the time to deal with normal market fluctuations.
This means that if the market takes a downturn, you can continue to hold your position until things stabilize.
The basic "dollar cost average" principle says that as long as you are investing the same amount on a regular basis, you will buy more shares when the price is low, and fewer when the price is high.
Over a prolonged period of time this almost always results in a lower cost per share.
Steadily investing your savings into the financial markets should also be diversified and allocated properly.
Diversification means investing in many different stocks or bonds, a strategy that significantly increases the chances that at least some of your assets will perform very well.
Asset allocation relates to holding different types of securities: not just stocks, bonds, or cash assets, but some of each.
If all your stocks decline in value, there is a good chance that all your bonds will increase in value.
The whole idea is to keep everything as balanced as possible while continuing to make your new contributions each month.
If your goal is retirement, investing through the medium of an Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA), Roth IRA, or employer sponsored qualified plan is also an excellent idea.
These allow you to invest before taxes are deducted and the money in these vehicles is only taxable once you reach retirement age and begin withdrawing the money.
Many of these plans also allow you to borrow from them, meaning if an unexpected emergency arises you still have access to some of this money, even without paying taxes on it.
You can probably figure out a lot of investment ideas yourself with a little time and research, but if not, there are many sources of information available on how to invest for your long-term goals.
Having a good investment strategy and creating a well endowed investment portfolio can move you toward reaching your financial goals much faster than merely saving.