Money goals are some of the most common goals people set, and some of the most commonly dropped. "Save more" or "get out of debt" is too big and too vague to act on this week. The fix is to turn the goal into a number, a date and a weekly step.
This guide is about setting and tracking money goals. It isn't financial advice. For big decisions, talk to a qualified adviser.
1. Pick one money goal
Common ones:
- Save for something: a deposit, a holiday, an emergency fund.
- Pay off a debt: a credit card, a car loan.
- Build a habit: spend less on takeaway, put something aside every payday.
Start with one. Two money goals pulling on the same pay often means neither moves.
2. Make it a number and a date
A SMART money goal has an amount and a deadline.
"Save $5,000 for an emergency fund by 30 June next year."
"Pay off the $3,200 on my credit card by Christmas."
If you're not sure the amount is realistic, that's the next step.
3. Work out the weekly step
Divide the amount by the weeks you have. $5,000 over 52 weeks is about $96 a week. $3,200 over 26 weeks is about $123 a week.
Now ask the honest question: can you put that aside every week? If not, change the date or the amount until you can. A goal you can keep is worth more than an impressive one you abandon in March.
Weekly amounts are easier to manage than monthly ones. They're smaller, and a missed week is easier to make up.
4. Find the money
Most people need to change something to free up the weekly amount. A simple budget helps. One common rule of thumb is to split your take-home pay roughly into needs, wants and savings, such as 50%, 30% and 20%. You don't need to follow it exactly. The point is to decide where the money goes before it's spent.
Look for one or two specific changes, not a complete overhaul. "Cook at home on weeknights" is a task you can do. "Spend less" isn't.
5. Automate what you can
If your bank lets you, set up an automatic transfer on payday. The less willpower a step needs, the more likely it happens. Your weekly task then becomes checking it went through.
6. Track it every week
Record each deposit or repayment. Seeing the total grow, or the debt shrink, is the best motivation a money goal has. It also shows you early if you're falling behind, while there's still time to catch up.
7. Plan for the bad weeks
An unexpected bill will come. When it does, don't abandon the goal. Skip the week, or put in what you can, and carry on. If it keeps happening, move the date out rather than giving up.
In Lifetick
With Premium, a goal can track a money target instead of words: Save money, Pay off debt or Hit a sales target. Each task can carry an amount, such as a weekly $96 deposit, and a repeating task counts its amount each time. The goal shows how much you've reached, how much is left, and any part of the target not yet covered by a task.
See Set a money goal and Add tasks, dates and reminders. To log savings day by day, a Money tracker works too: see Create a tracker and log values.
Start with one goal
Lifetick is free on iPhone and the web, and five quick questions make it a SMART goal.
