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How to set and achieve your savings goals

Setting goals is a fundamental element to any budget. When you are working to get out of debt this is the primary goal. However, its easy to feel lost after you've gotten out of debt and it is therefore, important to set yourself some financial goals. 

These goals should be a mixture of short, medium and long term. But try not to have too many goals (about 5 in total is best). A common shorter term goal is often having a large emergency fund (of about 6 months to a year worth of expenses). However, you may also wish to save for other things such as DIY projects or holidays. 
Mid-term goals may include paying off you house, or saving for a down payment if your are yet to get onto the property market. Whilst longer term goals may be retirement, children's college and school funds. 

Whatever goals you choose to set it is important that they are attainable. Below are some top tips to making this goals achievable
  • Have a start date- it is so easy to postpone and procrastinate about starting to do something. Stop talking and start acting. Even if it means simply setting up a standing order to a savings account for the money to come out in the near future. Taking a positive action towards a goal is rewarding and has the same snowball effect as when paying of debt.
  • Have a end date- There will be points at which it is hard to maintain the goal and it seems like the easier option is to just quit. Having an end date to aim for helps with this. An end may be a time or a financial amount. It will also help you to calculate how much you need to save on monthly basis (or however often you save). 
  • Make sure the goals you have set are for you and your family. If you are setting a goals so you can 'keep up with the Jones' then it will be destined for failure. 
  • Use a visual- I love spreadsheets and these help me to visualise our finical situation and I also find them very motivating. However, some people like to use visual progress charts. 
  • Celebrate achieving a goal and break goals into smaller goals worth celebrating. 
  • Keep your savings system as simple as possible- having regular payments on standing order is usually the easiest way to manage a savings goal 
  • Dont overly restrict- Now you are out of debt, not every penny you have has to go towards your goals. Don't overload yourself with pressure but allow some money in your budget to enjoy life with. 
What financial goals do you have at the moment?
Disease Called Debt

4 comments

  1. Love this! I definitely felt really lost right after paying off my school loans. I've got several goals happening right now: new computer, higher emergency savings (short term), new car and house down payment (medium term) and retirement (long term). It definitely helps keep my spending priorities in order.

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  2. Goals are so important when it comes to finances. My goals are to save for a house deposit and replenish my emergency fund after having the worst month ever for financial emergencies!

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  3. This is great! I love having the visual to keep me motivated! I make little progress bars and it's so fun to be able to update them! Right now I'm working on my building my emergency fund and paying off my mortgage.

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  4. That's what I really need to do--set some goals other than just retirement.

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