The major objective of personal finance is either to save more money or to get the financial condition to a good shape. Having some smart short-term personal financial goals will help you to achieve these objectives. Some of the short-term financial goals examples are listed below.
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Smart Short Term Financial Goals To Start Right Now.
An Emergency Fund
Life is unpredictable and it is impossible to know what it will bring next. Any money goals will become meaningless if you don’t have enough funds for handling an emergency. So, keep a little extra away at all times to handle such unexpected emergencies.
Most experts recommend keeping at least six to three months’ worth of living expenses in separate accounts if possible. This will help you to keep your finances on track even in case of an unforeseen event. Hence do not wait anymore and stat with this smart short term financial goal.
Improve Credit Score
This one is a long-term financial goal, and it is going to take some time to achieve this. But this is very important and popular in terms of financial goals. This may sound hard, but if you start working for it at the earliest it is not so hard to achieve. You can set some short-term financial goals to improve your credit score by a small amount to start with. Once you achieve that goal, repeat it until you reach your target.
There are many online services to check your credit score. Make use of it and understand where you stand first. Analyze and understand the factors affecting your credit score and work to improve on it.
These are a few tips to improve the credit score
- Pay off the credit card bills and loan balances as soon as you can
- Check for any errors in the credit report and correct it.
Start A Side Business Or Part Time Work
According to studies, persons who have a side business or part-time work in addition to their regular employment make significantly more money. This will make it easier to keep track of your monthly utility bills and costs. Before you start looking for a side hustle, consider how much time you have available and how much money you can make. Make a plan and work towards it.
Read Personal Finance Books
As we know reading is a very good habit to pursue. So, make the best use of it and plan a short-term goal to read some good personal finance books. If you can’t read or don’t have enough time, there are lots of podcasts available. Which can be listened to while you are driving or exercising.
Get Technical Help In Investing
There are many investment apps that can completely automate your investment plans. From free to paid services they offer a variety of options for you to choose from.
Many people wonder whether or not it is worthwhile to engage a financial counselor. After all, they’ll be entrusting their money affairs to them. With so many financial instruments accessible these days, it can be difficult to choose products that provide both short- and long-term returns while also aligning with your financial objectives. This is when you’ll need to hire a financial counselor. A financial adviser is a professional with extensive financial expertise who can help you maximize your returns and make your money work harder for you.
Make Health Your Priority
Choosing a healthy lifestyle can actually reduce overall spending, as well as be a wise physical choice. Make health goals your priority and select some good health insurance options. Getting healthier will help your finances directly and indirectly. Being healthy helps to save you on time and money.
Get Out Of Debt
Clearing off your debt is one of the most important financial goals in your journey towards a secure future. Paying off debts will improve your credit score and help you to achieve financial independence.
Few possible benefits if clearing your debts can be
- Clearing debt means that you will have full control over your income
- You will have more money for savings and investing – and even more for spending
- You can make less stressful choices in your career
- Most important, it will free your mind from the worries related to the debts.
Keep Records
Keep a record of your goals, this will make you more likely to achieve them. Accurately tracking the income and spending will make you more accountable and responsible towards the financial goals. Create a money journal and track your success and mistakes. Learn from the mistakes and improve on them.
Create And Follow A Budget
Creating and following a budget can be an eye-opener. Add this to your short term financial goals list. This will help you to categorize and control the spending. To start with you can go by the 50/20/30 rule. In this plan, 50% of your income goes towards essential regular spending like food, rent, and bills. 20% can be set aside for personal financial goals and investments. Rest 30% is flexible expenses of the month.
Avoid Large, Unnecessary Purchases
Don’t spend big amounts on phones and other gadgets unless absolutely necessary. Use the older phone instead of buying a new one as a new model of it is released. Make a list of items that are absolute necessities and cut out the rest. This will help you to tackle the rising debt.
Save On Utilities
Save on utility bills like electricity and water just by making some adjustments in our habits. Make a short-term financial goal to cut down on energy and other utility bills. Find ways to save on electricity by reducing the AC usage, water heater usage, etc
Learn A New Skill
Learning a new skill provide you many opportunities. It can be improving your work-related skills or learning a new skill. It will pay off eventually even if it is time-consuming. You can get better pay or better opportunities at work.
Set Loan Repayment To Autopay
Making use of autopay options for paying off loans can save you from making mistakes like missing an installment. It works automatically and you don’t have to worry about it every month.
Automate Your Savings
You can opt for direct savings from your salary every month. It can be a provident fund or any other saving plan as offered by your employer. This will make sure that part of the investment is always taken care of.
Set Your Bills Autopay
Similar to the repayment of loans, you can opt for autopay options for all monthly bills. This will save time, money, and hassle. This means no more cut services due to non-payment of bills. An hour’s worth of work on this could eliminate a lifetime of headaches. Every little bit counts.
Eliminate Expensive Habits
It is pretty simple and clear. Alcohol, tobacco, and other bad habits steal a whole lot of money. One can save a large sum of money by abstaining from such habits. If money seems to be disappearing at an alarming rate, start by looking at this category to see what can be eliminated.
Get Overdraft Limit Enhanced
The overdraft will come in handy in case of any unforeseen circumstances. So, get it enhanced from the bank and keep it as a plan B.
Get More Organized
Make use of financial tools available online to keep track of all your spending and investments. Make a note of all your financial goals and mark them as you achieve them. This will motivate you to work towards other long-term goals.
Conclusion
You’re unlikely to make perfect, linear progress toward any of your objectives, but what matters is that you stay on track. Don’t beat yourself up if you can’t contribute to your emergency fund one month because of an unexpected vehicle repair or medical expenditure, and instead have to take money out of it; that’s why the fund exists. Simply get back on track as quickly as possible.
It’s the same if you lose your job or become ill. You’ll need to make a new plan to get through that difficult time, and you may not be able to pay off debt or save for retirement, but if you’ve made it through, you can restart your original plan—or even a revised version—once you’ve recovered.
That’s the beauty of yearly financial goals: you can revisit and adjust your objectives, as well as track your progress toward them, as life unfolds. You’ll discover that the simple things you do on a daily and monthly basis, as well as the larger things you do every year and over decades, will all contribute to your financial objectives.
While day-to-day spending tends to get the majority of our attention, it’s equally crucial to think about long-term financial goals.
The activities you wish to do with your money in the next few months or years are known as short-term financial objectives. Setting a budget, building an emergency fund, and paying off debt are all important short-term financial goals.
Following that, you may want to start saving for items you want to buy or do in the near future, as well as consider investing your money to help you create wealth over time.
