Financial goals are important tools for helping us figure out what’s important for personal success, and developing these goals are a vital step for creating and maintianing a budget. Writing both short and long-term goals helps us track our progress over time - and see where our behavior may not match our vision for financial success.

Setting financial goals gives us the chance to step back from everyday pressures, allowing us to think about how we’d like our life to be rather than as how it happens to be right now. Long-term goals are “big picture” and could include anything from graduating from college to buying a home. Short-term goals lays the groundwork for future success, ensuring that your daily behavior matches your long-term vision for success.

Whether you're working on short or long-term goals, they should be SMART:

• Specific - What exactly do you want to do?

• Measurable - Can you measure whether or not you reach the goal?

• Achievable - There's nothing wrong with a goal being a stretch, but it's got to be in the realm of possibility for you.

• Results-focused - Does the goal measure an outcome or an activity? Goals should always measure outcomes - the end result of an activity.

• Time-specific - Even for long-term goals, moving beyond four or five years in the future is not a lot of help. Goals should always have a date for measuring success, failure or something in between.

The great thing about goals is that you don’t have to figure everything out now – you can revise them as your interests and priorities change. And, if you’re not sure about your financial goals, that’s OK too. Feel free to contact us at 844-517-3611 or use the live chat support to arrange an appointment with a Financial Coach and develop your financial goals!