10 Short-Term Financial Goals To Start Saving For Now
Are you considering saving towards a special purchase or paying down debt? Here are ten short-term financial goals to start saving for now.
Short-term financial goals are important when planning your financial future. Start by checking your financial goals to see how you can start saving today.
What are short-term financial goals?
Short-term financial goals are goals that are accomplished within a time frame of 12-24 months.
Short-term financial goals are great for those who want to kickstart their financial health early. For example, if you’re planning to buy a new car, having short-term financial goals can help you decide what car makes sense for your budget and lifestyle.
Goal 1: down payment on your first house purchase
If your goal is to own a house, then you probably know that the down payment is going to be one of the largest expenses you face.
Planning for your purchase will take a little education to determine what is the best option for you. A good recommendation is to consider what home loan options are available for you.
There are many tools available online that can get you started. We suggest scheduling a meeting with a mortgage or loan professional to learn which loans are available and best for you.
After you know which road you will take, then you can start working towards your goal.
The next goal is a must for everyone!
Goal 2: Start savings towards an emergency fund
Starting an emergency fund is a smart financial planning decision for all couples or singles. An emergency fund is essential for the protection of your family in the event of a crisis, like a loss of a job or possibly a medical emergency.
Lear from millionaires, they are planners. Most millionaires have long term goals, but more importantly short-term financial goals.
To get started, analyze your finances and start preparing your emergency fund savings to ensure you and your family are ready should a major event happen.
Preparing for an emergency is important so you don’t lose everything.
Goal 3: Plan a debt pay-off plan, one debt at a time
Create a debt pay-off plan. Debt pay-off is the most popular short-term financial goal.
Most households have some form of debt. A common example is credit card debt or even federal student loans.
Start working towards paying off one debt at a time. The best options are your credit cards. If you have a lot of store credit cards, focus on eliminating these debts first.
It is very easy to get in trouble when you have several different credit cards, especially for department stores. Many open lines of credit can accumulate high balances fast.
When paying down debt, consider making moves to earn more money in ways you never thought possible. Let’s see what the next goal has for you.
Another example of a short-term financial goal is to start a side hustle. Starting a side hustle is a way that you can use an interest or talent you have to make extra money.
Sometimes side hustles can earn more money than a regular full-time job. Use the money you make from your side hustle to pay off federal student loans or pay credit card debt.
Remember, when you set your short-term financial goal you have to be diligent and manage your goals to completion.
Goal 5: Cut down on expenses
Cutting down on expenses, like groceries and eating out, are easy ways to cut costs and manage your money fast.
In our home, when we were working to reduce our family debt, a specific challenge I made was to focus on the amount of money we were spending on our food budget.
Also Read: Unlock the secrets to saving $6000 in 6 months..
I remember Moses telling me it was impossible, that we were already running a tight budget, but I felt it was possible and we could save more money.
Just using coupons for meals at restaurants and checking for deals on groceries became a little side hobby and resulted in huge savings.
The biggest takeaway was how we didn’t feel as if we were getting any less. We were actually getting more for our money.
Cutting back and challenging yourself and your family to make a few little tweaks to your budget will make a huge impact to your goals in unheard-of ways.
Goal 6: Save for a new car
Has your car been acting a little funny lately, or maybe you want to buy your first car. A short-term financial goal you can set is savings towards the purchase of a car.
A new car can be a large financial expense to take on, but with proper planning, you can make this happen.
Some choose to purchase used cars instead of new cars. A used car is a great option, especially if it is gently used, maybe two or three years old. Used cars sometimes have warranties from the factory, or a dealership might offer a warranty.
A great online tool to find a car is by checking cars.com.
Deals are available, but the most important part of your short-term financial goal is to adequately plan and structure a great savings plan to get you to your goal.
Remember you want to structure a savings plan for no more than one to two years.
Goal 7: Create a home improvement budget
Since we spoke before about saving towards a down payment of a new house, you might now be thinking about saving on some home improvement ideas.
Home improvement budgets are great, especially for homeowners, because you can plan for the projects you want to start and have the home of your dreams.
As with any budget, you want to set a specific timeline.
Goal 8: Save for a special vacation
Was a vacation to Greece something you always dreamed of? But, the only thing stopping you from your dream vacation is the cost.
Don’t wait. Start planning this vacation and create a short-term financial goal for it. Save enough money so you can enjoy this special vacation you have always dreamed of.
How do you get there, you ask?
Well, it takes some planning and patience. The reward is so worth the hard work. Analyze your current funds and situation and figure out how much it will cost you for this vacation.
The best plan is to open a separate vacation savings account at your bank separately from your other savings.
Then, set up a timeline and start working towards your goal.
Some great tools to get good prices on vacation bundles are available on Priceline.com.
Goal 9: Start saving towards your wedding plans
If a big glamorous wedding is something that you have always seen for yourself since you were a little child, then make it your short-term financial goal.
Weddings these days can cost upwards of $30,000. Saving enough to pay a debt like this is a huge achievement and can be done.
Again, with careful planning and saving techniques, you can have the big wedding of your dreams.
A good tip is to create a budget and stick to it. We personally set up our wedding budget using our household budget planning app, Mint, which made our wedding planning so easy to track and maintain.
Goal 10: Start a holiday savings account
The holidays come and go every year, and like most of us, we forget until they are here and we start panicking.
I have friends that every year find themselves in regret of buying their house and racking up credit card bills.
If you start early and calculate how much you plan to invest into this savings account, you won’t be a victim of the holiday quilt crimes we all seem to face.
How to Set Short Term Financial Goals and make them succeed
Setting financial goals and making them a success is the goal we are all working towards.
To help you stay on track with your short-term goals in the upcoming year, we’ve put together a list of five tips:
- Write down your goals and break them down into smaller steps. This will make it easier to focus on what needs to be done each week and how long it will take to reach each goal.
- Set up a system that works for you and stick with it. If you like working through spreadsheets, do that! Or if you prefer using pen and paper, go for it! The key is to find something that works for you – this way, there’s less chance of forgetting about your financial goals altogether.
- If you have trouble staying focused on completing one task at a time, try setting aside 30 minutes every night before bedtime to work on one specific goal (like saving money or reducing debt).
- Make sure not to set yourself up for failure by ensuring that all of your monthly bills are paid well before the due date.
- Keep an eye out online: There are many free tools available online (like Mint) where you can easily keep track of how much money comes in each month, how much goes out each month, and even see how much interest is being charged on any credit cards or loans.
In short
If you want to begin saving towards a short-term financial goal, then start saving now, don’t wait and procrastinate.
Whether your goal is to pay down debt, buy a new car, or start an emergency fund, it’s important to start saving as soon as possible.
The way we were able to pay off all our debt was by setting goals and sticking to them. For more useful tips on how we paid off our house in less than five years, follow along with Good Dinero.
