Making Short Term Goals for Overall Savings

One of the biggest problems with budgeting or trying to bump up your savings is going to be overreaching. What am I mean by this is that they try to shoot for a big or far-reaching goal which can be unattainable at times. When creating a budget, you need to be able to stick to your plan and have something that fits within your means. I could easily set the goal of wanting to set aside $125 per month. Just because I want to, doesn’t mean it is feasible. For a lot of people, this is going to be extremely difficult. It is trying to find a goal that works within your means now you will be able to stick with over the course of the full year. It can fluctuate based on a lot of circumstances but any time is a good time to sit down and start making short term goals.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally posted/published in February 2019 and has been updated/revamped for accuracy and comprehension.

Update For 2020

We are entering a period of uncertainty between the economic changes as well as record unemployment. It becomes more paramount than ever to plan with short term gains. It is unclear how long this will go on, so it is best to plan for the future. If you are following steps similar to Dave Ramsey, it may be worth setting pausing the steps to bank the money. You can easily restart after everything has passed. It is important to make sure that you are able to live within your means, if not make the adjustments to help minimize the financial risk. Spending should be kept to a minimum at this point and put extra money into savings. This is an important time for making short term goals.

Coming up with a strategy

The most important thing to remember is to keep it simple. Have a goal in mind as to what you would Like to accomplish. It could be as simple as saying I want to save $15, $10  or even as low as $5 per paycheck. You can then determine do you want this extra money that you’re setting aside to go directly into your savings account or do you want to say put an extra $5 down per month on your credit card bill or loans. The more you can set aside the better but you still need to be able to pay your other bills/expenses.

Your goals can be whatever you make them. If your goal is to pay off your credit card with the least amount of debt. Go after that goal.  The short-term goals are not about making you rich or Financial Freedom. But they are a stepping stone to get you there. You can have several short-term goals in a long-term goal, which will all work together. But remember the more short-term goals you have the less focused you will likely be. Anytime that you’re setting goals both big or small, there’s always that nagging doubt. When you’re able to start checking them off, it will give you the motivation to keep going enter reaffirm that you’ve got this.

Conclusion

Any little bit helps with savings. And you shouldn’t become overstressed with the smaller goals. Find out what works the best for you to stick to your plan. Planning always helps and the worst-case scenario is that you re-adjust your short term goal. You can adjust or start making short term goals at any point. Life gets in the way sometimes and expenses come up, it is okay to redirect the focus of the short term goals for this. You can always come back to it later and pick up where you left off. Keep a piece of paper of your goals with your checkbook or by your computer if you check your statements online. This helps to stay focused in the long run and to keep to your budget!

What are your short term goals? Let us know in the comments below.