Back

How To: Set and Keep Personal Financial Goals

Regardless of what life stage you are in, you are likely to have some short and long term personal financial goals. Setting tangible and realistic goals, following them, and tracking your progress is the key to success in achieving all of your financial goals.

If you are married, it is absolutely essential that you and your spouse both share the same financial goals. Otherwise, achieving your personal financial goals is almost impossible. Develop your financial plans together, and review your progress together to make sure both of you are contributing to the same goals.

Determining what your short-term, mid-term, and long-term personal financial goals are is the first step. Some common financial goals are a dream vacation, a new home, college savings, retirement savings, and an emergency fund. Once you and your spouse have agreed on your goals, the next step is to determine a good estimate for how much money you’ll need for each of them. Figuring out an accurate amount involves discussion about the financial goals—for example, if you are saving for college for your children, what percentage do you want to pay? Also, do you want to pay for a state school or a private school? Retirement savings needs depend greatly on the lifestyle you plan to lead once you are retired, as well as when you plan to retire.

Prioritize each of your personal financial goals in order of importance, and then determine how long you have to save for each of them. Retirement could be many years away, but your short-term goals could be in a year or two. Next, estimate how much interest or capital gains you’ll expect to see in the accounts where you are saving your money. While capital gains are never guaranteed, you can use an estimated average for these purposes.

Finally, figure out how much you’ll need to save per month to achieve your financial goals. Don’t be discouraged if the dollar amount is overwhelming. The important thing is to have a set of tangible financial goals to work toward. On a monthly or quarterly basis, you and your spouse should review your progress, and continue to refine your plan. If you aren’t meeting your goals, revisit your financial budget to see if there are any areas where you can cut expenses in order to free up money for savings. In addition, use this plan to allocate any windfall amounts you may receive–from bonuses, inheritances, tax refunds, etc. To help simplify the financial goal setting process, try using this Goal Worksheet.

A woman in her fifties hugging her dog in a park.
Take the Next Step
Make the most of your money and connect with one of MMI's trained and certified debt and budget counselors!
Get Started
  • Better Business Bureau A+ rating Better Business Bureau
    MMI is proud to have achieved an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB), a nonprofit organization focused on promoting and improving marketplace trust. The BBB investigates charges of fraud against both consumers and businesses, sets standards for truthfulness in advertising, and evaluates the trustworthiness of businesses and charities, providing a score from A+ (highest) to F (lowest).
  • Financial Counseling Association of America Financial Counseling Association of America
    MMI is a proud member of the Financial Counseling Association of America (FCAA), a national association representing financial counseling companies that provide consumer credit counseling, housing counseling, student loan counseling, bankruptcy counseling, debt management, and various financial education services.
  • Trustpilot Trustpilot
    MMI is rated as “Excellent” (4.9/5) by reviewers on Trustpilot, a global, online consumer review platform dedicated to openness and transparency. Since 2007, Trustpilot has received over 116 million customer reviews for nearly 500,000 different websites and businesses. See what others are saying about the work we do.
  • Department of Housing and Urban Development - Equal Housing Opportunity Department of Housing and Urban Development
    MMI is certified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide consumer housing counseling. The mission of HUD is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD provides support services directly and through approved, local agencies like MMI.
  • Council on Accreditation Council On Accreditation
    MMI is proudly accredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA), an international, independent, nonprofit, human service accrediting organization. COA’s thorough, peer-reviewed accreditation process is designed to ensure that organizations like MMI are providing the highest standard of service and support for clients and employees alike.
  • National Foundation for Credit Counseling National Foundation for Credit Counseling
    MMI is a longstanding member of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling® (NFCC®), the nation’s largest nonprofit financial counseling organization. Founded in 1951, the NFCC’s mission is to promote financially responsible behavior and help member organizations like MMI deliver the highest-quality financial education and counseling services.