Reaching High for Your Goals

Let's talk about goals! Everyone has them, but how measurable are yours? In financial planning, a goal should have three parts: Purpose, Time, Amount (PTA). By having these three things, your goals will be measurable and realistic. For example, everyone I know wants to travel right now while we're young, but - it's hard to find the money.

Look at these two goals:

Goal 1: “I want to travel to other countries soon!”

Goal 2: “ I want to travel to England, Scotland, and Ireland in two years and I want to save $6,000 for it.”

 Which one of these goals seems better? Goal 2! It has the PTA all written out. By setting these ideas, you give yourself the purpose to work towards instead of a general idea, you give yourself a time frame to save during, and you have a total amount of money. It can be a little daunting to try to save a lot, so having a set goal that you can see yourself chipping away at is really rewarding.

Step 1: Making your goals!

Take an hour one day and sit down with no distractions. Grab some pen and paper and start writing out some goals that you have for your future. Start with some general ideas and work your way to more specific thought out goals.

 Here are some common goals for recent post-grads like me:

• Emergency fund (4-6 months living expenses)
• Travel Fund
• Down payment for a house

 Step 2: Set your Time and Amount

 Look at your salary and mandatory expenses to see how much you can save every month towards your goals.

• Save for your most important goals first! (Emergency fund should be at the top of your list)
• Short term vs. Long term goals: Consider which goals you have less time to save for and determine how much you want to put towards each goal

 Don’t Forget About Retirement

• While thinking about all your goals, don’t forget about setting aside money for your retirement accounts and FSA or HSA accounts for medical bills

 Staying on Track

• Set up automatic savings withdrawals
• Don't skimp on everything you want to do just to save more money but - do pause and take a moment to think about what things are worth the money and what you can pass on

Re-evaluating

• Every couple of months sit down to take a look at your goals.
  • Are all of them still valid things you want?
  • Have you been able to stay on track without depriving yourself?
• Salary increase? Take a look at what you can be saving more for!

It’s so easy to have fun and let that paycheck slip right out of your wallet without planning.  Get started today – you’ll be so glad you did!