What Defines Financial Goals and How to Achieve Them

Everyone’s circumstances differ when it comes to money. If you want to take charge of your finances, you’ll need a customised strategy that addresses your unique circumstances, needs and goals. The most important way to resolve these issues is to establish your financial objectives.

In this article, we discuss how you should outline your financial goals and the steps you can take to start achieving them.

What Defines A Financial Goal?

Financial goals are your targeted aims or desires when it comes to wealth management. Saving, spending, earning, and investing all form part of your financial goals.

First, create a budget while listing your finance goals. Working toward your goal is easier when you have a clear image of what you want to achieve. That implies your objectives must be quantifiable, detailed, and time-bound.

MoneySmart offers a free Budget Planner which you can find here.¹

What Are the Types of Financial Goals?

There are 3 main categories of financial objectives:

Short-term
Mid-term
Long-term

Short-Term Financial Goals

These are shorter-term financial goals that you can accomplish in a year. A few examples of this include:

Repaying a credit card
Starting an emergency fund
Taking an overseas holiday

Mid-Term Financial Goals

Mid-term goals usually take roughly five years to achieve. They are typically a little more expensive than your short-term targets, but they are attainable with dedication and hard effort. Mid-term goals can include:

Saving for a new car
Paying off your HECS-HELP debt
Saving a new house deposit

Long-Term Financial Goals

Long-term goals take much more than five years to achieve and tend to involve significant investment. Some long-term goals are:

Repaying your mortgage
Building your retirement nest egg
Saving for your children’s education

What Are Examples of Personal Financial Goals?

Are you still uncertain of what you want to achieve? Here are some examples of personal financial goals to get you started.

Educational Investment

Unfortunately, paying off HECS-HELP debt has become a modern long-term ambition due to the rising tuition expense. University expenses are a significant aim to build your budget around, whether you’re repaying your own debt or a parent preparing for your child’s education.

Emergency Savings

Life is unpredictably unexpected; therefore, being prepared is essential. One of the few goals that are a must is saving for emergencies.

When something unexpected and costly occurs, emergency savings are there to protect you from financial blows.

Homeownership

A popular long-term financial aim is to purchase a home. Homeownership is an important financial goal to pursue, whether you’re saving for a deposit or striving to pay off a mortgage.

The easiest method to secure a modest house loan is to save up a substantial deposit. You can also avoid the expense of lender’s mortgage insurance (LMI) if you save enough, which would save you even more money.

Retirement Fund

Many people aim to save for retirement. It’s a fantastic example of a long-term investment.

It’s critical to think about your retirement requirements in detail. The most profitable approach to investing in your future is creating a retirement plan. Remember that the sooner you begin, the better off you will be in the long run.

Start Achieving Your Financial Goals Today!

Whatever financial goals you have in mind, make sure to include developing (and continually enhancing) your financial literacy. Being a lifelong learner committed to learning more about saving and investing is one of the most critical aspects of your success. You’ll be able to establish the proper goals at the right time if you make that commitment to education with financial planning services at Coastal Advice Group.

In fact, the IOOF The True Value of Advice 2020 research paper found that:

93% of survey participants believe advice provides clarity around goals and progression towards them
91% of survey participants agreed that receiving advice helped them to achieve their financial goals²

Our goal at Coastal Advice Group is to support Australians to unlock their financial futures and live a life of possibility through our award-winning advice solutions. Our financial advisers will assist you in determining your particular financial goals and developing an investment strategy to help you achieve them sooner.

We have offices located in Newcastle, the Central Coast, Sydney, Port Macquarie, and Byron Bay. Call us or book online to secure your first appointment with us today and get started!

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