Make attainable goals.

Make attainable goals.

In 2019, Census data showed that 24% of young adults consider themselves financially independent by the age of 22.

But this doesn’t happen overnight. Every goal needs to have a consistent path that’s attainable. Here’s how!What are financial goals?A financial goal is any plan that you set that affects your money. These can either be short-term or long-term in nature. For example, you might want to set aside $1,000 every month for vacation you're planning, or building a corpus for your retirement fund. The timeframe of this goal is just as important as the end goal itself. This keeps you focused and accountable to yourself.

Write your goals down

When you put pen to paper, it makes you subconsciously tied down to that goal. We write things that are important because our minds tend to think of them as tangible, fixed statements. Since your brain tricks you to believing that this is serious stuff, chances are you'll achieve them!


So, go ahead and make that commitment to yourself by putting it down in writing. Once you have done that, you need to ensure that it's visible somewhere. So paste it on your refrigerator door or your desk. The more you see it, the more you'll want to work towards it.

Goals need to be specific

"I want to get financially independent." Or "I want to travel." Sure, these are pretty cool blanket statements, but they're not getting you anywhere.

A financial goal needs to have these three things:

  • A timeframe
  • An amount you're saving towards
  • A roadmap

Now let's try that again. "I want to be financially independent in 5 years for which I will $60,000. I will get there by putting aside $ 12,000 a year i.e. $1,000 a month."

Sounds so much more attainable, right?

Measure progress

Okay, now we're done with the easy part. Setting the goal, putting in a timeframe. But there's something more. You need to make sure that you're hitting those goals on time. Saving up that $12,000 in one shot might seem impossible, but bringing it down to $1,000 a month? That seems doable.

So ensure that you're on track. If you're falling behind, ensure that you're taking into account what's making you fall short and compensate towards this, or move things around to make the goal work for you.

Deadlines matter

Time is all that we have, and all that we don't. Will you ever really reach your goals if they aren’t time-sensitive? Someday doesn't really get you anywhere. You need to give yourself a deadline and make it reasonable but also challenging.

Don't make it exhausting. Then you'll end up giving up.

Dream your dream

When everyone around you is making their dream come true, it's easy to get sucked into the idea that you too, want the same thing. But with financial goals, you should be mindful that everyone lives a different lifestyle. So you've gotta choose one that works for you.

Do you have commitments? How's your situation with debt? How good is your credit history? Are you paying loans at the moment? These are just some of the questions to keep in mind while ensuring that you're setting the right expectations. Especially for yourself.

TL;DR

  • Break things down into actionable, achievable goals:

All financial goals need to have the following things - A specific purpose, a time frame and a roadmap.
For example: I need to finish building an emergency fund by the end of 2023 for which I will have to save $500 every month.

  • Get out of debt as soon as possible: At the end of the day, you do not want to be paying high interest fees. So try paying off debt well within the time frame or work towards doing so by keeping a fixed repayment amount every month.
  • Save and then spend: It is always important to build yourself a financial safety net. This is going to be possible only if you learn to save before you spend any of your money.
  • Learn to say No!: Yup! It’s tough especially when you look at those tempting sales, but remember, every dollar not spent is every dollar saved.
  • Sleep over purchases: Impulsive purchases are never a good idea. Never! If you really like something, keep it aside and think over it. Do you still feel the same way about it after 24 hours? If something is on discount, would you have still bought it if it were on the full price? Taking a step back can help nudge you in the right direction.