6 Biggest Money Goals and How to Achieve Them (Guest Post)

Hey wonderful readers. Today, as you might have noticed, I have a guest post!! What an exciting time to be alive, haha. Aiden White contacted me asking to put together a piece for the site, and of course, I said yes! She put together a basic “how to” list of things that you can do to put yourself on the right foot financially. While at the end of the day, personal finance is, well, personal (yes, I just cringed a little because I hate cliches, but this one is oh so true), overarching tips aren’t always a terrible guidepost. So without further adieu:

“You either master money, or, on some level, money masters you.” – Tony Robbins

It is true that with proper strategies, planning, and goal setting, you may be able to keep your finances in shape. But before that, you must identify the right money goals to attain your financial security.

You may choose a few important financial goals or you might be ready for all of them. But to fulfill your big financial goals, you may need to change yourself and execute a plan to make your financial resolutions stick.

What are the financial goals?

You might be thinking about your money goals just like you thought about your other life goals. But achieving money goals is a totally different thing. Have you ever thought of where you would like to be financially in the next 5, 10 and 15 years? Let me guess…NO?

What about next year? Did you know what will be your financial status in 2020? Not a clue!! Right?

Achieving money goals is about planning ahead and solving the big and small money issues that may affect your finances in the coming years.

You don’t have to be financially pro or need the knowledge of hardcore personal finance basics to sort out your money goals. But, your first action step should be writing down your biggest money goals. When you express your money goals through words and keep them near your vision, it will motivate you and keep you steady for bringing them to life.

What do you require to motivate yourself?

Trust me!! Without proper motivation, nothing happens. So, once I was trying to motivate myself, these 3 questions came to my mind related to achieving money goals:

1. Why? – The answer is reward. The reward should be important, meaningful, and compelling to you.
2. How? – The answer would be the strategies, or plans, or the people which will help you to achieve your money goals.
3. Who? – You must believe that it is you who has the ability, knowledge, and confidence to execute the plans or strategies to achieve the money goals.

“A good financial plan is a road map that shows us exactly how the choices we make today will affect our future.” – Alexa Von Tobel

The biggest money goals and how to achieve them

Now I am about to tell you the secret ways to achieve money goals in your life. I have created a list that I have followed to fulfill my money goals. I hope these will be helpful for you too.

1. Build an emergency fund

The first money goal of yours should be building up a big emergency fund. This is the most important safety measure that you should take for your life’s unexpected events. It may seem confusing that you are saving a big part of your income to build an emergency fund, where there are debts to pay off.

But if you think practically, a lack of emergency savings may cause a devastating impact during several unexpected money crises. So, you should work hard and save at least three months’ worth of fixed expenses into your emergency fund.

I can remember my father used to give me $1 in every two days, excluding my pocket money. He Said not to use that money, rather save it in a safe place. Whenever I needed urgent money for buying a small item for my studies, I used that saving fund. That habit is still there but in a modified way.

2. Get out of debt

Debt is such an issue that can restrict our financial capabilities, as well as require continuous payments which lower our disposable income. It doesn’t matter that you have “secured debt” or “unsecured debt,” all debts should be treated equally and needs to be paid off asap. So, one of the primary money goals you need to set for yourself is to pay off your debts once and for all. The great thing about this goal is that anyone can do it, regardless of income or wealth level.

If you are suffering from credit card debt problems, the best way to get out of debt is by using your credit cards less and pay more than you owe instead of making the minimum payments.

Getting rid of your credit card debt can help you to save hundreds of dollars every month. The more you can save on your credit card balances, the more you may contribute to your monthly budget.

You may opt for a 0% APR card to transfer your balance. It is one of the most popular ways to consolidate your credit card debts. You may Choose “Debt Snowball” or “Debt avalanche” method to get rid of your credit card debt.

3. Create and stick to a budget

This I have learned from my mother you know! She always categorizes everything, from groceries to medical bills, from any household expenses to dining out at the weekend, all these costs were managed by my mom. Budgeting is the thing that my father and I learned from my mom. My father knew that she is the one who can sort out the costs and separate all the required money in proper places. So, my father used to deal with big numbers like retirement funds, car insurance payments, investments, etc.

If you are serious about your finances and your money goals, then you also can’t ignore the importance of budgeting. Budgeting is one of the top 10 financial goals people set every year. It is because it is the foundational money goal which provides support to fulfill other big money goals.

Through proper budgeting, you can manage your daily expenses, save for emergency purposes, contribute enough money towards savings, contribute toward your retirement funds and future investments, and above all, you can pay off your debts completely. If you ignore budgeting, you can’t set up plans based on your income and expenses.

4. Open an IRA or Start Contributing to Your 401(k)

One easy money goal is to start saving for retirement if you want to spend your last days without any worries. Here’s why planning for retirement is important:

• Reaching your retirement goals will take longer time than you think. To get your retirement fund benefits you have to wait till 65. So, if you plan to retire early, you’ll have to start saving as soon as possible.
• Due to poor health, you may need to retire early. So, you should be prepared for the emergency.
• Family issues and other unavoidable incidents may require your presence, so early retirement will help you to manage the problem.

Contact your employer and note down the details on how you can start contributing into your 401(k). You should contribute as much as your employer is contributing. You may also increase your contribution later each year.

If you do not qualify for a retirement plan, consider opening up an IRA and start saving there.

5. Complete your insurance needs

Insurance planning is an important financial goal which you should fulfill with caution. It is nothing but a process of analyzing different types of insurance, as per their requirement in your life. You can insure pretty much anything today, starting from the life, health, home, car to other unconventional things such as hair, voice, body parts, or even smile. Based on the things that need insurance coverage, the insurance comes down into two categories:

• Protection of assets
• Protection of one’s ability to produce assets.

Insurance coverage helps you to design a secure financial life. So, you first need to decide what type of insurance you need the most. Once you choose the things to insure, such as life, health, or car, you may have to calculate how much you are able to invest to get insured.

Based on your affordability, you should start your research so that you may get sufficient coverage for your needs within your budget.

You might want to know the names of different insurance coverage that you primarily need:

• Life insurance
• Auto insurance or car insurance
• Homeowners insurance
• Liability insurance
• Disability insurance
• Health Insurance
• Long-term care insurance, etc.

Consult a professional insurance agent and discuss different insurance plans. Choose the best plan with maximum coverage and lower premium amount.

6. Create multiple income streams

You might like your job too much, but creating multiple income streams are most important for your financial future. You must diversify your income sources so that if one source dries, another one will maintain the income flow. One of those income streams could be the part-time cash flow that enables you to semi-retire at an early age.

You may even start your own business along with your job. I myself once had some financial crunch due to overspending. To manage the situation, I carelessly used my credit cards. As a result, my debts were growing rapidly.

At that time, my gym instructor Freddie encouraged me to do a side hustle. He offered me to take care of his accounts and all the paperwork related to the gym. Naturally, I wasn’t in a situation to refuse his offer. So I joined him and took care of the matter. The money I earned was quite good, thanks to Freddie. I used that money to pay off my credit cards and kept a small amount for emergencies.

Doing a side hustle can also be useful to help you pay off your debts. Multiple income streams can make your income portfolio strong, which means you’re a self-dependant individual.

Conclusion

There are many money goals you may find, you just have to dig up your financial priorities and plan for your future days. Setting random financial goals without looking at the bigger picture can not make it successful. So, work hard, keep patience, and be honest with yourself. Good luck!

Aiden White is a financial writer who lives in Foster City, California. She started her financial journey in 2015 and has been associated with consolidatecreditcard.org for last 10 months. Through her writing, she has inspired people to overcome their credit card debt problems and solved their personal finance based queries. Being a debt fighter in her personal life, her goal is to share innovative thoughts and knowledge in the debt communities. Get in touch with her at aidenwhitejoe [at] Gmail [dot] com.